"Trying to find survivors under the rubble." The day after Turkey and Syria's deadly earthquakes

Rescue efforts stymied by winter weather

The earthquakes are two of the worst to hit the region in modern history. More than 70,000 people were exposed to the strong tremors, with people feeling the effects in Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan. Yesterday, the government of Turkey issued a Level 4 alarm, calling for international assistance.

“The authorities and local [organizations] are still very busy trying to find survivors under the rubble,” Rami says. “Yesterday, I saw people distributing food and water, but today I didn’t see any people coming to the collective shelter, and I had the impression that if you were not able to buy something, you needed to stay hungry.”

“The catastrophe is beyond the capacity of one country and more support is needed and I think this will be seen over the next days.”

One of the hardest hit regions has been northwest Syria, where more than 60% of area’s 4.6 million people are internally displaced. They are now facing repeated displacement due to the earthquakes, aftershocks, and extreme winter weather.

“If we can save more lives, now is the time”

The situation is changing by the hour, but CARE Turkey and its partners are prioritizing the delivery essentials like tents, mattresses, blankets, clean drinking water, baby food, and thermal clothing to people seeking refuge from the earthquake and the looming snowstorm. CARE is also preparing for potential influxes of internally displaced persons across Northern Syria to areas where CARE and its partners operate.

CARE Turkey’s country director Sherine Ibrahim spoke with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour earlier on Tuesday about the ongoing rescue efforts:

“Every minute counts. We know there are approximately 11,000 buildings that have collapsed & with every passing minute there are people who can’t be saved,” says @CARE’s Sherine Ibrahim. In the winter cold, “we can expect people will not survive under the rubble for much longer.” pic.twitter.com/s5L6JtRv3L

— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) February 7, 2023

The devastation has caused Al-Dana Maternity Hospital, a facility supported by CARE in Northwest Syria, to shut down and be completely evacuated, impacting maternal care and care offered to newborn infants.

According to the official statement issued by the Bab Al-Hawa authorities, on February 7, the crossing connecting Turkey with Northwest Syria is now accessible to emergency humanitarian relief.

The road conditions from Turkey and Idlib to the crossing remain very acute due to the weather, and the status of the crossing is subject to a day-to-day decision by the relevant authorities, depending on conditions on the ground.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported no catastrophic damage to the road leading to the crossing or the crossing point itself, so CARE expects it will be increasingly accessible for cross-border relief convoys by the day.

To help, please visit the Turkey Syria Earthquake fund here.