Relief operations will be more challenging in Syria than in Turkey, expert says
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February 7, 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake news

By Tara Subramaniam, Sana Noor Haq, Christian Edwards, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Mike Hayes, Tori B. Powell and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, February 8, 2023
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5:01 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Relief operations will be more challenging in Syria than in Turkey, expert says

From CNN's Christian Edwards

People wrapped in blankets look at the rubble as the search for survivors continues in Aleppo, Syria on Tuesday.
People wrapped in blankets look at the rubble as the search for survivors continues in Aleppo, Syria on Tuesday. (Firas Makdesi/Reuters)

Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN's This Morning about the difficulty of providing aid to Syria.

“The situation in Turkey is coordinated through a very well developed government. They have infrastructure, they have rescue teams,” Tajaldin said.

“In northern Syria, most of the services are provided by NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and through humanitarian aid. There is no central government to take care of the multi-sectoral response,” he said.

SAMS is one of the many organizations providing relief in the region. This has been made harder after “the previous 12 years of crisis in Syria,” Tajaldin said. Attacks on civilian infrastructure and the absence of investment left northwestern Syria particularly vulnerable to this disaster.

“Yesterday we evacuated two maternity hospitals because of the physical impact of the earthquake on the infrastructure,” Tajaldin added.

4:45 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

China is sending aid to earthquake-stricken region

From CNN's Mengchen Zhang in Beijing

China said it will do its best to provide assistance to Turkey and Syria after a devastating earthquake struck the region Monday, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring over 24,000 across both countries.

The first batch of aid to Turkey will be 40 million Chinese yuan ($5.9 million), while also dispatching rescue and medical teams, and emergency supplies, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Mao Ning said Tuesday.

Beijing is coordinating with Syria for emergency supplies and accelerating the implementation of ongoing food aid projects, Mao added.

So far no Chinese citizens have been reported killed in the earthquake, China's MOFA also confirmed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent condolences to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, on Monday, according to state media Xinhua, as rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of flattened buildings.

3:40 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Israeli aid groups chartering flight to Turkey with rescue specialists and equipment

From CNN's Hadas Gold in Jerusalem

Two Israeli aid groups have chartered a flight to Gaziantep on Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims of the earthquake in Turkey.

United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer emergency medical service, chartered the flight on El Al Airlines alongside aid group IsraAid, United Hatzalah spokesperson Raphael Poch said.

Ten search and rescue specialists, a water expert, and more than a dozen doctors, paramedics and mental health specialists will be on board the flight, according to Poch and IsraAid spokesperson Shachar May.

The groups said they will also be bringing “several tons” of humanitarian aid in the form of bedding, tents, warm clothing, food, water filters, hygiene kits, and resilience kits.

3:34 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

White Helmets say death toll expected to rise significantly in rebel-held northwest Syria

From CNN's Celine Alkhaldi

Members of the White Helmets search through rubble for survivors in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, early on Monday.
Members of the White Helmets search through rubble for survivors in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian Idlib province, early on Monday. (Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP/Getty Images)

Hundreds of families remain trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in northwest Syria following Monday's powerful earthquake, according to the White Helmets, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense.

More than 790 victims have been confirmed dead in rebel-held parts of northwest Syria, and more than 2,200 injured, the White Helmets said on Twitter.

However, “the numbers are expected to rise significantly because hundreds of families are still under the rubble,” the group said.

More than 210 buildings were destroyed by the quake in northwest Syria, the group added.

Some context: Syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, is facing widespread devastation from the quake. More than 1,500 fatalities and 3,600 wounded have been reported across the country, according to officials.

Some 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war, a UNICEF spokesman said earlier. Among major concerns now are a lack of access to shelter and safe drinking water amid freezing weather conditions and the risk of diseases such as cholera spreading.

3:24 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Pakistan's Prime Minister will travel to Turkey to offer support

From CNN’s Sophia Saifi in Islamabad

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivers a speech at the leaders summit of the COP27 climate conference on November 8, 2022.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivers a speech at the leaders summit of the COP27 climate conference on November 8, 2022. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Ankara on Wednesday to offer his support following the devastating earthquake.

In a statement Tuesday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Sharif would "express condolences and solidarity with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and the people of Turkey over the loss of precious lives and destruction caused by yesterday's deadly earthquake."

Pakistan has also deployed two search and rescue teams to Turkey.

1:39 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Help for Turkey and Syria is arriving from across the world following the deadly quake

From CNN's Rhea Mogul

The international community has been quick to offer assistance to Turkey and Syria as the full scale of the disaster becomes clear.

Here's a round-up of some of the latest pledges of support:

  • On Tuesday morning, planes carrying aid from Iraq and Iran, including food, medicines and blankets, arrived at Damascus International Airport in Syria, Syrian state media SANA reported.
  • Japan announced it would send the country’s Disaster Relief Rescue team to Turkey, and on Monday night, the first of two disaster relief teams left India for Turkey with dog squads and medical supplies. Pakistan has also dispatched two search and rescue teams to the ravaged country, while Australia and New Zealand committed funds for humanitarian assistance.
  • The European Union activated its crisis response mechanism, while the United States said it would send two search and rescue units to Turkey. Palestinian civil defense and medical teams will also be sent to Turkey and Syria to help in rescue operations.
  • Meanwhile, 10 units of the Russian army with more than 300 soldiers are clearing debris and helping in search and rescue operations in Syria, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Russia is the strongest foreign power operating in Syria, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has long allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
  • The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said emergency response teams from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and WHO’s Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) are being mobilized to Turkey to assist in the humanitarian response.
12:56 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

In Syria, millions of displaced people face harsh winter as quake destruction raises risk of disease

From CNN's Rhea Mogul

People search through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Idlib, Syria, on February 6.
People search through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Idlib, Syria, on February 6. (Ghaith Alsayed/AP)

More than 4,300 people were killed either side of the Turkey-Syria border when the 7.8-magnitude quake hit southern Turkey in the early hours of Monday. But with thousands more injured and an unknown number missing, it’s feared the final toll could be much higher.

In Syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, the devastation following Monday's earthquake is widespread.

  • Death toll: At least 1,136 people were killed in the quake, Syrian state news agencies reported, with fears more remain buried within rubble. Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by rebels, and aid agencies warn of an acute humanitarian crisis that is likely to be felt for months to come.
  • Equipment shortfall: The UN's humanitarian coordinator in Syria, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, told CNN the search and rescue mission was being hampered by a lack of heavy equipment and machinery. He said the UN’s supply of stock has been distributed and more medicine and medical equipment is needed, and especially fresh water or tools to repair damaged water tanks.
  • Vulnerable population: Around 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war, according to James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF. “Everyone is overstretched in that part of the world … there is an enormous amount do,” he said. “People have fled their homes often standing around in bitterly cold conditions really without access to safe water. So water is key. Blankets, food, psychological support.”
  • Disease risk: Hospitals in the country are overwhelmed as victims seek help, with some facilities damaged by the quake. And there is particular concern about the spread of illness, especially among children, who were already living in extreme hardship. This winter had been particularly tough due to the freezing conditions and a cholera outbreak, Elder said.
  • Plea for international aid: A volunteer with the “White Helmets” group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, said the organization does not have enough help to handle this disaster. “Our teams are working around the clock to help to save the injured people. But our capabilities, our powers are not enough to handle this disaster,” Ismail Alabdullah told CNN. “This disaster needs international efforts to handle.”
1:00 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

In Turkey, rescue workers are racing to find survivors following the deadly quake

From CNN's Rhea Mogul

Rescuers search for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 7.
Rescuers search for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 7. (Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images)

A massive international rescue effort is underway in Turkey and Syria to reach victims trapped within rubble as survivors endured their first night in freezing conditions beside the crumbled remains of thousands of homes and buildings.

The death toll continues to climb more than 24 hours after the quake as search terms navigate blocked roads and damaged infrastructure to reach the affected area, which has been rattled by at least 100 aftershocks.

  • In Turkey: At least 2,921 people have died and several thousand are injured, the head of the country’s disaster services, Yunus Sezer told a news conference Monday night.
  • Plunging temperatures: The weather and the scale of the disaster were making it challenging for aid teams to reach the affected area, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that helicopters were unable to take off on Monday due to the poor weather. Heavy snowstorms have recently hit parts of Syria and Turkey, according to CNN meteorologist Haley Brink, and by Wednesday already cold temperatures are expected to plummet several degrees below zero.
  • Survivors sheltering: Photos taken in earthquake-hit cities in southeastern Turkey show families huddling around fires to keep warm. Some sought shelter in buses, sports centers, mosques and underneath temporary tarpaulin tents —  structures sturdy enough to withstand further aftershocks or flimsy enough not to cause severe injury should they collapse.
  • Buildings destroyed: At least 5,606 structures crumbled during the quake and in the hours after, Turkey’s disaster agency (AFAD) said. Iskenderun State Hospital in the city of the same name was among them, Koca, the health minister said. “We are trying to save the medical workers and patients there,” he added. “These sorts of disasters can only be overcome with solidarity.” By late Monday, at least 300,000 blankets, 24,712 beds, and 19,722 tents had been sent to the quake-affected areas, AFAD said.
12:24 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Monday's earthquake is the most powerful recorded in Turkey since 1939, UN says

From CNN’s Sahar Akbarzai

A view of debris in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 6.
A view of debris in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 6. (Adsiz Gunebakan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The United Nations said the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey early Monday was the county's most powerful quake in more than 80 years.

“This is Türkiye's most powerful earthquake recorded since 1939," a situational report released Monday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said.

UNOCHA said emergency response teams from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and World Health Organization's Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) are being mobilized to Turkey to assist in the humanitarian response. 

"The UN and partners are closely monitoring the situation on the ground and are looking to mobilize emergency funds in the region," the report said.