The UN warns that the earthquakes further aggravate the humanitarian crisis in northwestern Syria

Cold, cholera and an imminent exodus of displaced people force an extraordinary international response: “We have not yet seen the full extent of the damage”

11 Feb. () –

The earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have further aggravated the humanitarian crisis that was going through in particular the northwest of the Arab republic, an area battered after years of civil war and now finished off by the earthquakes this week, amid the uncertainty opened by a catastrophe from which “the full extent of the damage” it has caused is still not visible.

The devastating earthquakes have already claimed the lives of more than 24,000 people as the international community continues its relief efforts and rescue teams make a final effort to continue finding survivors, five days after the quakes.

According to the latest official balance this Saturday, at least 20,665 people have died in Turkey alone, where the number of injured is 80,088 people. In neighboring Syria there is evidence of 3,553 deaths and 5,276 injuries, for a total of 24,218.

The Turkish agency for disaster management, AFAD, has confirmed that more than 90,000 people have been evacuated from the ten Turkish provinces affected by the earthquake and there are now more than 166,000 rescue teams and volunteers on the ground, including some 8,000 foreign rescue specialists.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND “SECONDARY IMPACTS”

The international institution has launched an extraordinary emergency response with experts in humanitarian care, based on initial aid of some 50 million dollars (46 million euros). Several convoys have crossed the Bab al Hawa pass to provide all possible care for the population of northern Syria, but it is also requesting, through the World Food Program, another 46 million (42 million euros) more to attend to half million people affected by the earthquakes: 200,000 newly displaced in Syria and 300,000 in Turkey.

This number is added to the 4.1 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in northwestern Syria, in areas such as Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, Homs, Tartus and Idlib.

The UN warns of the short-term consequences of the quake: “secondary impacts” such as the explosion of disease outbreaks, mental health problems, illnesses caused by exposure to cold and the worsening of the current cholera outbreak in the region due to the damage suffered by the infrastructures.

“We have not yet seen the full extent of the damage and the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes,” the organization warns, before calling on the international community to rise to the “incredible generosity” displayed “during years” by the peoples of Syria and Turkey to the rest of the countries of the world.