Countries rally support for Turkey, Syria as deadly earthquake claims 3,500 lives (Photos)
No fewer than 3,500 persons are said to have been killed following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 6, according to The Guardian.
The quake was centred north of Gaziantep, Turkey, which is about 60 miles from the Syrian border and has a population of bout 2 million. The region is home to large numbers of Syrian refugees.
It struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 11 miles, the US Geological Survey said. A strong 6.7 aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later, causing more havoc. Turkey’s own agency said 40 aftershocks were felt.
READ ALSO: Deadly Earthquake: PMB condoles with Turkey as quake death toll rises
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency said the earthquake killed scores of people across seven Turkish provinces.
At around 10:15 GMT, six hours after the incident, Turkey’s president Recep Erdogan announced the death toll in his country had soared to 912, while another 5,000 were injured, revising earlier figures. Erdogan described it as the country’s largest disaster since 1939 (when 33,000 people were killed in the Erzincan earthquake)
To this, countries including the United States, United Kingdom (UK) and India have pledged to provide support to the two countries.
Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser, in a tweet on stated that the US President had instructed the federal government to prepare assistance from the United States.
“The US is profoundly concerned by the reports of today’s destructive earthquake in Turkey and Syria,’ Sullivan said.
‘We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance. President Biden has directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess US response options to help those most affected. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with the government of Turkey.’
The statement did not say whether the US would work directly with the Syrian government, against which the US currently has economic sanctions in place.
Samantha Power, the head of USAID, said they were looking at how best to assist.
”Deeply concerned about the earthquake that just struck Turkiye & Syria,” she tweeted. ”It’s one of the most powerful to hit Turkiye in 100 yrs, and the human toll, including on already displaced Syrians, will be devastating. “@POTUS has directed @USAID to assess how we can help those impacted.”
Also, British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly said in a tweet that the UK stands ready.
He tweeted: ‘Tragic loss of life in the Turkey and Syria earthquake. Our condolences go to the families of those who died and our thoughts are with the survivors. The UK stands ready to provide assistance.’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak echoed his foreign secretary’s statement, saying: ‘My thoughts are with the people of Turkey and Syria this morning, particularly with those first responders working so valiantly to save those trapped by the earthquake. The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can.’
India’s leader, Narendra Modi, also offered support.
‘Anguished by the loss of lives and damage of property due to the Earthquake in Turkey,’ he tweeted.
‘Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon.
‘India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy.’
He posted a similar message of support for Syria.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky also offered his war-torn country’s support.
‘Shocked by the news about the death and injury of hundreds of people as a result of the earthquake in Turkey,’ he tweeted on Monday morning.
We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery. We are in this moment close to the friendly Turkish people, ready to provide the necessary assistance.’
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s most senior diplomat, said that the 27-country bloc was ready to help the devastated countries.
‘Devastating earthquake rocked Türkiye and Syria this morning, claiming the lives of hundreds of people and injuring many more,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘Our thoughts are with the people of Türkiye and Syria. The EU is ready to help.’
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) announced that it had mobilised 10 search and rescue teams. ‘Teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way,’ with the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre overseeing their deployment, the bloc’s crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic tweeted.
He said that the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism had been activated to respond to the quake, which hit Turkey and Syria, causing deaths and destruction in both countries. His office said that Turkey had requested EU assistance.
The Netherlands, Israel, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Poland, Taiwan, Russia and even Iran were among the dozens of other counties offer their assistance.
Russian president Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to Syria and Turkey, while Russia’s emergencies ministry said it two IL-76 aircraft with 100 rescuers were ready to fly out to Turkey if required.
Russia, which is closely allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, maintains a significant military presence in that country. Putin also has a strong rapport with President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member which has nevertheless sought to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
At least 371 people have been killed and around 1,042 injured in government-controlled regions of Syria, with the victims mostly in Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus and Hama, Syrian officials said in their own update shorty before Erdogan’s.
The White Helmets said at least a further 221 people were killed in rebel-held areas in Syria, bringing the overall death toll from the massive quake to 1,472 so far.
The volunteer civil defence organisation said the quake has ‘resulted in hundreds of injuries, dozens of deaths, and people being stranded in the winter cold’.
”The toll may increase as many families are still trapped,’ the White Helmets, which operates in rebel-controlled areas of the war-torn country, said. ‘Our teams are on the ground [are] searching for survivors and removing the dead from the rubble.”
The death toll across the whole affected region is expected to climb as rescue teams work throughout Monday to find more people trapped under collapsed buildings.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that ‘search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched’ to the areas hit by the devastating quake.
‘We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,’ he wrote on Twitter. He urged people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
‘Our priority is to bring out people trapped under ruined buildings and to transfer them to hospitals,’ he said.
At least 2,800 rescue teams have been deployed across Turkey, and the Turkish armed forces have set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the affected zones, the country’s defence ministry said on Monday.
