Turkey-Earthquake: Emergency Situation Report (15.03.2023) – Türkiye

March 17, 2023 admin-dominor

A devastating earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale hit Southern Türkiye in the early hours of 6 February (4.17 a.m.) with its epicenter in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaras province. The earthquake affected the neighboring provinces of Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis,
Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Elazığ and Adana where about 14 million people reside including about 1,8 million Syrian refugees1. A second major earthquake hit the region after 9 hours with 7.5 magnitude, causing further destruction of damaged buildings. Aftershocks continue in the disaster area. It is stated that there have been about 16,000 aftershocks since 6 February.
According to the statement of the Minister of Interior on 13 March 2023, 48,448 people have lost their lives, 6,660 of whom were individuals under temporary protection or international protection status holders.

Support to Life (STL) published its previous Emergency Report on 7 March. Below are listed a number of region-wide developments for the period of 7-15 March:

Heavy rainfall turned into floods in the earthquake-hit provinces of Adıyaman, Malatya and Şanlıurfa. As of 15 March, 13 people in Şanlıurfa and 2 people in Adıyaman lost their lives. Temporary shelters in Adıyaman city center were also flooded. The emergency department of Şanlıurfa Central Hospital was flooded and education in the province was suspended for a day. The number of flooded vehicles in the city is estimated to be in the hundreds. The Governor’s Office ordered people living in basements of houses in some areas bordering the river bottom to evacuate their buildings immediately. Some roads are reportedly closed to traffic due to landslides and flooding. It is stated that heavy rain is expected to continue in the coming days.
Education has resumed in the earthquake-affected provinces of Gaziantep, Adana, and Osmaniye.
These three provinces have a total of 1,3 million students. In Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya, where destruction is the heaviest, education will resume on 27 March3.
According to UNICEF’s report, approximately 4 million children, including 350,000 refugees’ access to education has been hampered. There are 2,5 million children in need4.
According to an initial assessment by the Ministry of Health, a quarter of hospitals in the 11 affected provinces are severely or moderately damaged, while 15% of primary health care facilities (236 facilities in total) are inoperable. In the most affected districts of the four provinces, more than 40% of district Health Directorates, more than 70% of family health centers, and 50% of migrant health centers are damaged, according to the World Health Organization’s initial assessment. In addition, nearly 60% of obstetrics and gynecology wards are out of service. Only about 30% of the pre-earthquake number of doctors and nurses are able to work.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) announced that there are approximately 226,000 pregnant women in the disaster area, with 25,000 births expected within a month.
Health organizations in Syria reported at least 600 cases of cholera in affected areas of Syria.
Contaminated water supplies pose a major threat to human health. According to the Netherlands Red Cross, in many places hundreds of people have to share several latrines, which increases the risk of disease due to overuse. The organization points out that the Euphrates River (Fırat Nehri) is also highly polluted.
As of 13 March, the UN Flash Appeal for 1 billion USD for the disaster area is about 13% covered.
The European Union (EU) has announced that it will organize an International Donors Conference for people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on 20 March. The conference in Brussels will be organised by the European Commission and the Council of the EU, of which Sweden holds the rotating presidency.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change dated 10 March, 821,302 independent sections of the 1,706,000 buildings inspected are heavily damaged and in need of immediate demolition. In 5 provinces, damage assessment work has been completed.
It is stated that approximately 20% of the demolished building debris has been removed.
According to the ‘2023 Earthquakes Displacement Overview’ report prepared by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a total of 2,7 million people have left the disaster area after the earthquake. The number of displaced people is expected to change as more data becomes available.
UN OCHA mapped the sectors and locations of NGOs operating in the earthquake zone. As of 15 March, a total of 63 NGOs are registered in the OCHA sector coordination system and operate in the disaster area. Organizations operating in 10 sectors can be reached at this map.
STL continues its emergency response in 12 provinces, including Hatay, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Batman and Adana, as well as Mardin, Mersin, Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul. STL is active in shelter/non-food needs (NFI), food security and livelihoods (FSL), water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, temporary settlement support, mental health and psychological support (MHPSS), and protection sectors.