AMMAN — More than 2,000 people have
died in both Syria and Turkey, with the number still rising,
after two earthquakes hit on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Various countries and international
organizations have offered to send aid.
Dozens of countries and organizations
have offered to assist rescue efforts in southeastern Turkey and northwestern
Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said the earthquake was the strongest since 1939, when a 7.9 quake hit
the eastern city of Erzincan and killed more than 30,000 people.
Erdogan said 9,000 personnel are
carrying out search-and-rescue operations, a number constantly increasing as
people try and access the affected areas.
Erdogan said: "As well as NATO
and the EU, we have received aid offers from 45 countries."
Earthquake damagesIt is estimated that over 1,700
buildings have collapsed since the initial 7.8 quake.
At least 1,498 people were killed
across 10 provinces of Turkey, with another 7,600 injured, according to the
country’s disaster management agency.
The death toll in government-held
areas of Syria rose to more than 430 people, with 1,280 injured, according to
data from the health ministry. In the country’s north-west where the government
is not in control, groups that operate there said the death toll was at least 380,
with many hundreds injured, according to The Guardian.
The death toll is likely to keep
rising rapidly.
According to Turkish Anadolu Agency,
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority listed the affected
regions so far as Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana,
Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis. Thousands more have been affected
across the border in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Latakia.
Turkish media reported that two
hospital buildings in the Turkish Hatay cities of Iskenderun and Antakya have collapsed following the earthquakes.
The collapsed sites include a six-story
building at Iskenderun State Hospital which housed an intensive care unit. Patients
evacuated to a nearby garden.
HaberTurk reported that search and
rescue teams were still going through the wreckage. Meanwhile, the governor of
Hatay said Antakya's state hospital had also collapsed.
2,000 year old Turkish castle
destroyedThe ancient castle in the Turkish
city of Gazientep has been largely destroyed by the devastating earthquake.
For over 2,000 years, Gaziantep
Castle stood strong, its structure remaining intact despite waves of invasion
and conquest that saw it controlled by a series of Middle Eastern empires,
according to Middle East Eye.
Regional supportHis Majesty King Abdullah expressed
condolences over the victims of the earthquake that hit areas in Syria and
Turkey, according to a Royal Court statement.
His Majesty also sent cables to
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Syrian President Bashar Assad and issued
directives to provide aid to the families impacted by the tragedy in the two
countries.
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos
Mitsotakis, offered condolences and support to Turkey as well, saying that the
country is mobilizing its resources to assist immediately, Al Jazeera reported.
Despite recent tensions, Greece and
Turkey have a long history of helping each other in earthquakes.
Iran's Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, also expressed condolences and offered help to
the earthquake-hit countries.
He described the offer of help as a
“moral, human, and Islamic responsibility,” and said that Iran is ready to
fulfill its responsibility if there is a need for the presence of its relief
and health institutions, according to Al Jazeera.
Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani, expressed his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and said that Qatar is ready to support the country in mitigating the serious
humanitarian repercussions of the earthquake.
Israel to send aidIsrael’s Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, said that he had given the go-ahead to send aid to earthquake-hit Syria after receiving a request through diplomatic channels.
Netanyahu’s office declined to
provide further details on the source of the request to help Syria.
The Israeli prime minister also
confirmed that his government would send humanitarian assistance to Turkey.
Western supportWhite House National Security
Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US is “profoundly concerned” about the incident.
“I have been in touch with Turkish
officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed
assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination
with Turkiye,” Sullivan said on Twitter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
expressed his condolences and offered assistance to the earthquake-hit
countries.
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, also expressed his sincere condolences and said that Ukraine is
ready to provide necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the
disaster.
Meanwhile, Spain's urban rescue
teams are preparing to travel to Turkey to help with the disaster.
The Indian government also said that
they are ready to send two teams from their National Disaster Response Force
with 100 personnel, including specially trained canine squads and equipment, to
the disaster area for search-and-rescue operations.
According to Al Jazeera, China has expressed
its willingness to provide humanitarian emergency aid to earthquake-stricken
Turkey and Syria. Spokesperson of the
China International Development Cooperation Agency said that they are in
communication with both countries and expressed their condolences and concern
for the loss of life and property.
The EU has also mobilized 10
search-and-rescue teams from eight countries to assist first responders in
Turkey.
The teams come from Bulgaria,
Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, and
Romania.
Italy and Hungary have also offered
to send teams to Turkey.
Germany’s Federal Agency for
Technical Relief said it is ready to provide shelter, water treatment units,
generators, tents, and blankets to help with the disaster.
Interior minister, Nancy Faeser,
also said that Berlin will increase its assistance to charities providing
humanitarian aid in northwest Syria by $1.1 million.
Organization supportThe Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
is assessing the situation to provide direct support to those affected in
Syria. Carsten Hansen, NRC's Middle East Regional Director, said that a massive
scale-up is needed and their organization will be part of it, Al Jazeera
reported.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
Filippo Grandi, expressed solidarity with those affected in both countries and
said that the UN agency is ready to help provide urgent relief to the survivors
through their
Poland will also send its rescue
group HUSAR, consisting of 76 firefighters and eight rescue dogs, to help with
the disaster.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
