Türkiye: 2023 Earthquakes Situation Report No. 14, as of 13 April 2023 [EN/TR] – Türkiye

April 17, 2023 admin-dominor

This report is produced by the OCHA mission in Türkiye in collaboration with humanitarian partners and covers the humanitarian situation and earthquake response in Türkiye. It covers the period from 7 to 13 April 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS

An estimated 1.6 million people are residing in informal settlements, mostly in makeshift shelters or tents, with very basic living conditions and limited or no access to services.
Partners are identifying an increasing need and opportunity to shift assistance to cash-based interventions to enable people to appropriately cover their urgent needs.
Planning to phase out the service of hot meals is ongoing as several partners will stop hot meal distribution after Ramadan, having provided meals to 2.8 million people daily. There is an increased need for facilities and items to enable people to resume cooking.
In many affected locations, families have lost documentation on land and property rights and require support on how to recover these documents.
There are increased new shelter requirements due to the expected return of people to their places of origin.

9.1M affected people

5.2M targeted for humanitarian assistance

3M people having to relocate from their homes

1.6M people staying in informal settlements

50K people killed

107K people injured

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Ongoing environmental challenges continue to affect people, particularly those living in informal sites and tent cities. Heavy rain affected areas including several Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Malatya, Şanlıurfa and Hatay on 10 and 11 April, causing flooding in tents and other dwellings and a yellow warning was issued for heavy rainfall in 21 provinces, including those in the earthquake zone. On 11 April, three earthquakes measuring 4.3, 4.2 and 4.0 Magnitude occurred in proximity to the areas affected by the February earthquakes. In parallel, increasingly warm weather is forecast in the coming weeks and continuing for several months, necessitating adaptation and mitigation measures in emergency shelters.

Markets and businesses are reported to have reopened and banking systems have been restored in many less affected locations. Rapid Market Mapping for March, conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP), Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), shows that functioning markets are concentrated in less affected neighbourhoods and city centres, but that information about where markets are functioning needs to be provided to the affected populations. Alternative ATMs have been set up near affected bank branches along with some mobile branches, enabling the withdrawal of cash. With the approaching transition out of the emergency phase, in-kind assistance is no longer fully meeting people’s diverse and changing needs in many affected locations.

Partners are therefore urging a transition from in-kind assistance to a cash-based modality for the whole response, where appropriate and feasible. There is a pressing need to implement cash and voucher assistance (CVA) projects, including multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) in locations where markets are functioning, taking into account the sustainability of assistance, cost effectiveness and the level of market recovery in the affected areas. Some in-kind assistance in a few locations observed as being sold in marketplaces, while some shop owners cannot sell legumes, dry food or hygiene items because of the volume of in-kind assistance.

Although schools have reopened in 10 out of 11 affected provinces, the need for education in emergency interventions remains very high, particularly in temporary relocation sites where humanitarian partners have set up temporary learning spaces and provided learning materials for catch-up classes and formal education, including in Malatya, where school has not yet resumed for middle and high school students, as well as students in tent cities and informal sites who are reporting difficulty preparing for high-school and university entrance exams. Although the 2022-2023 academic year will end on 16 June, summer programmes will be organized to compensate for the loss of learning due to school closures. The Minister of National Education has called for education activities to resume everywhere possible, including in rural areas and villages.

The Needs and Response Overview was published, highlighting improved information on needs, as well as the interim achievements of the humanitarian response outlined in the UN Flash Appeal. The report was presented to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) as well as to Member States at a briefing by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator on Tuesday 11 April. The Humanitarian Country Team is preparing for transition from the emergency phase at the conclusion of the Flash Appeal on 17 May. The Flash Appeal for US$1 billion to assist 5.2 million people affected by the earthquakes is 29.2 per cent funded, receiving $293.8 million in contributions (14 April 2023).

The response to the earthquakes in Türkiye continues to be led by the Government of Türkiye in coordination with AFAD and with support from TRC. The international humanitarian community continues to support the government in providing immediate assistance to the affected population. In a collaborative effort, humanitarian partners are mobilizing emergency teams and relief operations, delivering relief items such as food, medical supplies, shelter, hygiene and dignity kits and WASH assistance, among other essential needs.