The News Caravan

Tag: Natural disasters

  • WHO: Turkey, Syria earthquakes ‘worst natural disaster’ in European region in a century

    WHO: Turkey, Syria earthquakes ‘worst natural disaster’ in European region in a century

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    The powerful earthquakes that struck central Turkey and northwest Syria just over a week ago are the “worst natural disaster in the WHO European Region for a century,” said Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe.

    “We are still learning about its magnitude. Its true cost is not known yet,” Kluge said during a press briefing today.

    The WHO’s European Region includes 53 European and Central Asian countries, including Turkey.

    More than 31,000 people are confirmed dead in Turkey, and nearly 5,000 lost their lives across the border in Syria, he said, adding that the figures are expected to rise further. He added that 26 million people across both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance.

    The WHO launched a $43 million appeal to support the earthquake response, with likely more to come.

    “I expect this to at least double over the coming days as we get a better assessment of the massive scale of this crisis and the needs,” Kluge said.

    With water and sanitation facilities being hit, concerns are mounting over health issues, including the spread of infectious diseases. Health care facilities have also been gravely damaged.

    “According to the Turkish authorities, an estimated 80,000 people are in hospital, placing a huge strain on the health system, itself badly damaged by the disaster,” Kluge said.

    “We have initiated the largest deployment of Emergency Medical Teams in the WHO European Region in our 75-year history,” he added. Their goal is to support the damaged medical facilities, focusing on the high number of trauma patients and those with catastrophic injuries.



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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

  • Turkey-Syria earthquake deaths expected to top 50,000: UN aid chief

    Turkey-Syria earthquake deaths expected to top 50,000: UN aid chief

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    The death toll from a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria is likely to “double or more” from its current level of 28,000, United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths told Sky News.

    “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it will double or more,” said Griffiths after travelling to the city of Kahramanmaras in Turkey, the epicenter of the first earthquake. “We haven’t really begun to count the number of dead,” he said.

    The estimate would take the tally of deaths to around three times the 17,118 dead following the huge earthquake in northwestern Turkey in 1999.

    On February 6, a series of large earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

    Rescue teams are still out searching for survivors. “Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary numbers of those affected for the next months,” Griffiths said in a video posted to Twitter.

    Almost 26 million people have been affected by the earthquake, the World Health Organization said.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )