The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 exceeded 41,000 on Thursday, February 16, the day the UN appealed for help to raise a billion dollars. in order to come to the aid of these two countries. As the chances of finding survivors dwindle, official and medical sources said the total now stands at 41,732 people who lost their lives: 38,044 in Turkey and 3,688 in Syria.
Syria: “In Idlib, it’s a terrible humanitarian disaster”, after the earthquake
Turkish rescuers pulled a 17-year-old girl and a woman in her twenties out of the rubble on Thursday, nearly eleven days after the quake that devastated the border area between the two countries. In many towns and villages in both countries, rescuers are still trying to help any survivors, but with each passing hour the chances that they could have survived, in the freezing cold, under the rubble diminishes. .
Turkey has therefore suspended rescue operations in some areas and the government of Syria, a country torn by war for twelve years, has done the same in areas it controls. In Turkey, the toll of the earthquake makes it the deadliest natural disaster in the country’s post-Ottoman history.
“Enormous” needs
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appealed for international aid to raise a billion dollars to help the two devastated countries.
“The funding – which covers a period of three months – will assist 5.2 million people and enable aid organizations to step up their crucial support for government-led efforts” from Turkey, “hit by the most devastating earthquake in the country in a century”Antonio Guterres wrote in a statement.
The UN chief has “urged the international community to do more and fully fund this vital effort to respond to one of the greatest natural disasters of our time”.
“Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world and has shown immense generosity to its Syrian neighbor for years”insisted Antonio Guterres. “Now is the time for the world to stand with the people of Turkey, just as they have done with others seeking help”he added, stating that “the needs were enormous, [que] people were suffering and [qu’]there was no time to lose”.
A donation of 5 million dollars for the victims
On the other hand, the world’s second largest steel group ArcelorMittal, describing a situation “heartbreaking”, announced a donation of $5 million to help victims in Turkey and Syria, through the humanitarian organizations Doctors Without Borders and Disasters Emergency Committee.
Augustin, survivor of the earthquake in Turkey: “I heard the first sirens of the emergency services more than four hours after the tremors”
The US State Department announced on Wednesday that Antony Blinken would travel to Turkey on Sunday to see the ongoing humanitarian effort there. The head of American diplomacy must first reach the air base of Incirlik, in the south-east of the country, from where part of the humanitarian aid for the disaster areas leaves, then reach Ankara where he has planned talks with the Turkish authorities on Sunday and Monday.
