The icy cold in the disaster area hinders the helpers racing against time

Rescue teams are trying to rescue people from under the rubble after severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Winter conditions hamper rescuers and reduce the chances of survival of those trapped under the debris. There is freezing cold and snow in the disaster area.

Homes and apartments were destroyed, schools and hospitals were also damaged. At least 6,000 buildings collapsed in Turkey alone. There are still aftershocks that cause damaged buildings to collapse.

Helpers are also affected by the winter weather while delivering relief supplies. People who have lost their homes often find themselves in harsh conditions with no food or drink, no warm clothing or a roof over their heads. Some areas have not yet been reached.

delay

Help is offered from all over the world in the form of rescue workers, medical personnel and relief supplies. It is mainly brought to Adana in Turkey. The airport cannot handle the flow of aircraft, which causes flight delays.

The Dutch Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) also had to deal with it. The team arrived at Adana Airport, but the second plane with the equipment was diverted to Antalya. The vehicle, which reached Adana later in the day, enabled a team of 65 people and eight rescue dogs to go to the earthquake area.

At the request of the Turkish authorities, they set up their tents in the south, in the Hatay region, close to the Syrian border.

i need everything

Organizations already operating in Turkey and Syria, such as UNHCR, Unicef, and the Syrian American Medical Association, are calling for medical device donations. Heating blankets, mattresses, mobile kitchens, plastic covers, bins and winter clothing are also required. Volunteer organization White Helmets in the Syrian rebel area is first calling rescuers. Hundreds of people are still under the rubble.

The Turkish Red Crescent has more than 240 helpers and hundreds of volunteers in the region and is trying to provide food, drink and tents to as many people as possible. People are also encouraged to donate blood.

The conditions under which assistance should be provided differ in the three affected regions. Access to some areas in Turkey is difficult and connections are broken. In Syria, some of them are in government territory, some in opposition-held territory. This means that there is no coordinated assistance. It is also not possible to travel between the two regions.

A newborn baby was rescued from the rubble in Cinderis, one of the most affected regions of Syria, but the mother could not be rescued:

According to Middle East correspondent Daisy Mohr, the disaster area in Syria is difficult to reach, partly because of the war. President Assad’s allies including Iran, Russia, Algeria and Iraq are sending aid.

It is difficult to provide assistance to the opposition zone, as the route passes through the earthquake zone in Turkey and the road from Lebanon is almost impassable due to heavy snowfall. The extent of the disaster in this region is uncertain, international media is not allowed.

crisis after crisis

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 23 million people, including 1.4 million children, were affected by the earthquake. Civil protection assumes that due to the humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war that has been going on for years, the need for assistance in Syria will be greater in the short and medium term than in Turkey.

“This is a crisis on several crises in the affected region,” the WHO said. “In Syria, after almost 12 years of complex crisis, when the need is greatest, there is less and less money for it.”

WHO chief Tedros is very concerned about areas that have not yet been disclosed. “Mapping the damage helps us determine where to focus our attention,” he says.

Source: NOS