By Savannah Paolillo | Donor Services
In the early morning of February 6, 2023, a severe earthquake shook southern Turkey, also known as Türkiye, near the Syrian border. As first responders worked to save lives amid the devastation, hundreds of strong aftershocks followed putting search and rescue workers at risk and impacting communities in southern Turkey, northern Syria and parts of Lebanon. Humanitarian needs in the region, which hosts many people displaced by the 12-year conflict in Syria, were already high before these earthquakes deepened the existing crisis.
Reports from on the ground
IRC staff responding on the ground in Syria report that the quake affected areas that host a high number of families displaced by conflict. Many of the people impacted have already been displaced up to 20 times. “Those sixty seconds, or maybe a little more, summarized twelve years of war, of destruction, of displacement, of killing,” said Hamed*, the IRC’S Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) Manager in Syria. “People have lost everything—their homes, their children, their source of living,” he added. “They lost everything they’ve got and ended up out in the open.”
The country’s ongoing war has weakened vital infrastructure, including the health system, reducing its capacity to respond to emergencies like this one. Only 59% of hospitals in Syria are fully functional. Electricity across the affected area remains intermittent, with many parts of northern Syria completely off the grid. This includes mobile and internet outages, making the response and coordination even more difficult. Gas supplies, which many rely on to heat their homes, have also been severely impacted—meaning that even if people are able to return to their homes they will have to endure freezing temperatures. Even before the quake, 2 million people were already lacking adequate housing during the harsh Syrian winter. This includes 800,000 people – most of them children – who live in makeshift shelters without reliable access to heat, electricity, clean water or sanitation services.
“Temperatures are plummeting to below zero, leaving thousands exposed,” says Tanya Evans, the IRC’s Syria country director. “Women and children will find themselves particularly at risk of exploitation and abuse should they find themselves once again displaced,” she explains. “Many in northwest Syria have been displaced up to 20 times and with health facilities strained beyond capacity–even before this tragedy–many did not have access to the health care they critically need.” While some nations have announced plans to provide earthquake aid to Syria, the existing international humanitarian response plan for the country remains severely underfunded with less than half of the $4 billion required to meet humanitarian needs.
How is the IRC responding to the earthquakes?
In the wake of the powerful earthquake, our teams in Syria are working tirelessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those affected. Our more than 1,000 staff inside the country are providing lifesaving health care and protection services along with other emergency early recovery support.
As humanitarian needs have soared, we have launched an integrated response to affected populations across both Turkey and Syria. This includes the provision of immediate cash, basic items, such as blankets and towels, and hygiene supplies like soap, toothbrushes and feminine products. As part of our work to support essential health services in affected areas, the IRC launched two mobile health teams that provide treatment and care to survivors. We have also set up safe spaces for affected women and children.
Thank You for Your Continued Support
Thanks to your generous support, we provide essential services to displaced communities around the world, including housing, health care, education, employment, and legal assistance to provide people with a solid foundation, helping newcomers integrate and thrive in their new communities.
You can further your support by welcoming your new neighbors and encouraging your friends and family to do the same. You can also help refugees by volunteering at a local resettlement agency, becoming an English tutor, a tour guide, a mentor to a family, donating furniture and household items, teaching others about the valuable contributions of refugees, urging your elected officials to support refugee resettlement, and employing or encouraging local businesses to employ refugees. Thank you for your support!
By Savannah Paolillo | Donor Services
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
