WHO European Region Emergency Quarterly Operational Update – First quarter 2023: Weeks 1–13 (January–March 2023) – Türkiye

Contents Highlights …………………..1
Türkiye and Syria earthquake………..….…..2
COVID-19 ………………….5
Mpox…..……………….……9
Ukraine conflict…..……12
PSEAH updates……….15
Operational support and logistics…………..…..…..16
Funding implementation……….17
Key links and resources………………….18
Upcoming activities and operations ..……………..19

GRADE 3 – TÜRKIYE AND SYRIA EARTHQUAKES

On 6 February 2023, two major earthquakes occurred in Türkiye. Of 7.7 and 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, the epicentre was located in the Kahramanmaraş province and the quakes were followed by two additional earthquakes of 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude on the Richter scale on 20 February. Overall, 11 provinces were affected in south-east Türkiye. Between 6 February and 2 April 2023, more than 17 000 aftershocks have occurred, impacting 11 provinces, of which 50 were earthquakes with a magnitude of over 5.0. On 24 March, the Government of Türkiye announced that the earthquakes had damaged nearly 307 000 buildings and 893 000 independent units throughout the region. The most severely affected areas were Hatay,

Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, and Malatya. Currently, 92% of the population of these areas is living in temporary settlements.

The response to the earthquakes was led by the Government of Türkiye, coordinated through the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and with the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC). The United Nations (UN) and humanitarian partners continue to mobilize emergency teams and relief operations in Türkiye, in support of the response by the Government of Türkiye.

As part of the response to the earthquake-affected areas, WHO supported and coordinated the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative in Türkiye, which included 42 approved international EMTs from more than 20 countries. This was the largest deployment of EMTs to a WHO/Europe disaster zone in WHO’s 75-year history. WHO has also provided psychological first-aid training and delivered over 27 tonnes of supplies to the Ministry of Health (MoH). For more information on the Türkiye response, please find the situation reports available here.