The devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023 left a trail of destruction and immense suffering. This article provides answers to frequently asked questions about the earthquake, its impact, and how you can help those affected.
Fast Facts: 2023 Turkey–Syria Earthquake
- Date: February 6, 2023
- Magnitude: 7.8
- Location: Southern Turkey near the Syrian border
- Impact:
- Over 15.73 million people affected
- More than 55,000 lives lost
- Nearly 130,000 injured
- Millions displaced from their homes
How Many People Were Affected by the Earthquake?
The earthquake impacted at least 15.73 million people in Turkey and Syria, with over 55,000 lives lost and nearly 130,000 injured Millions were displaced from their homes, facing immense challenges and uncertainty.
How Did World Vision Respond to the Earthquake?
World Vision swiftly responded to the disaster, providing critical support to over 1.8 million people within the first year. Our efforts included:
- Delivering vital essentials: food, heaters, fuel, hygiene kits, cash assistance, and more.
- Providing shelter: 10,675 people supplied with shelters.
- Ensuring access to clean water and sanitation: 924,975 people gained access.
- Distributing hygiene kits: 119,745 people equipped with hygiene kits.
- Supporting healthcare services: 380,288 people supported with healthcare services.
- Providing health and nutrition support: 449,378 people received health and nutrition support.
- Implementing educational programs: 50,916 educational programs implemented.
How Can I Help Earthquake Survivors Today?
You can help World Vision continue to respond to the needs of earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria Here’s how:
- Pray: Join us in praying for all those affected by this tragedy.
- Give: Your gift will help vulnerable people recover and rebuild their lives.
Where Did the 2023 Turkey–Syria Earthquake Strike?
The earthquake struck near the Turkish cities of Nurdağı and Gaziantep in Gaziantep Province, just outside the regional capital, which hosts millions of Syrian refugees.
- In Turkey: The disaster compounded the already dire situation in the area, beset by the ongoing Syria conflict and refugee crisis. Eleven Turkish provinces were hit, affecting nongovernmental organizations supporting Syrians through cross-border humanitarian operations.
- In Syria: The quake severely impacted the cities of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, and Idlib, causing significant damage and resulting in the collapse of numerous buildings and the destruction of water systems.
How Were Survivors Affected by the Aftermath of the Earthquake?
The earthquake’s aftermath deeply affected survivors in Turkey and Syria, worsening the already severe humanitarian crisis. The ongoing emergency in Syria stands as one of the world’s largest crises, further intensified by the earthquake’s extensive aftermath:
- Damaged infrastructure: Nearly 50,000 buildings, including critical infrastructure like schools and hospitals, suffered significant damage or were completely destroyed.
- Disrupted healthcare: Access to essential healthcare in northwest Syria was severely disrupted, with nearly one-third of health centers non-operational and 70 others damaged.
- Vulnerable children: Disrupted schooling and housing loss heightened vulnerabilities among children, increasing the risks of exploitation and family separation.
- Housing crisis: In August 2023, over 265,000 people in Syria urgently needed proper housing due to the disaster’s destruction of homes.
- Summer fires: Scorching summer temperatures in 2023 triggered more than 40 devastating fires, damaging tents, and taking several lives, further exacerbating the crisis.
What Are the Ongoing Risks Faced by Children After the Earthquake?
Millions of children in Syria and Turkey are still in need of humanitarian aid and face various challenges. As of August 2023:
- Children in need: At least 2.5 million children in Turkey (including many Syrian refugees) and 3.7 million children in Syria need continued humanitarian assistance.
- Waterborne diseases: The widespread damage to water systems in the region has placed millions of children at risk of waterborne diseases like cholera and Hepatitis A, necessitating urgent action to prevent outbreaks.
- Mental health challenges: In Syria, mental health support for children was at high demand. Even before the earthquake, many children in conflict-affected areas were already showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and alarming suicidal thoughts.
How Long Has World Vision Served in the Middle East Region?
For nearly 40 years, World Vision has served the most vulnerable communities in the Middle East. We’re dedicated to improving the lives of children, families, and communities through long-term sustainable development and responding to disasters.
World Vision swiftly supported Syrian families who fled to Lebanon in 2011. Since then, our work has expanded to other countries hosting Syrian refugees and into Syria. Children and their long-term needs are always our first priority.
Since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis, we’ve helped more than 7.5 million children and their families in the region. World Vision continues to aid children and families in Syria, Jordan, and Turkey, all of whom have suffered from ongoing conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis.
How to Help: Donate or Pray
You can help World Vision continue to respond to the needs of earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria. Here’s how:
- Donate: Your gift will help vulnerable people recover and rebuild their lives.
- Pray: Join us in praying for all those affected by this tragedy.
Your support will make a difference in the lives of those affected by this devastating earthquake.
More than 100 remain unaccounted for after 8-magnitude tremor levelled buildings across southern Turkey
We’re hoping for any information, a tooth, or anything that could let us know if he’s still with us or not. ”.
Selma, 54, is a mother who is inconsolable.
Samet, her 24-year-old son, was spending the night a few kilometers from the family’s Antakya home while away on business when a strong 7 8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and Syria.
Buildings all throughout the region were destroyed, including the one Samet was staying in, killing over 50,000 people. Selma, whose son Samet is missing, occasionally makes me believe that he may still be alive and that he suffered a head injury and lost his memory.
He has not yet been located, and the results of two DNA tests performed on human remains from the location were negative.
“Where is my son? If he died, where is the body?” Selma asks, in tears.
Turkish authorities have not provided an official figure for the number of people missing after the earthquake. Afad, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, did not respond to The Nationals request for information.
At least 140 persons are still missing, according to the Association for Solidarity with Earthquake Victims and Lost Relatives (Demak), a group of missing people’s relatives, according to secretary general Sema Gulec.
Meanwhile, Selma says: “As time passes, I feel more pain.
Sitting in her living room with smiling pictures of her son on the white walls, she tells The National, “It is unbearable.”
Her two daughters pay attention as their mother talks about a year that was a terrible mixture of hopelessness and unfathomable grief.
Not a bone to bury
“The night of the earthquake, I told him to stay at home because I had a bad feeling,” Selma says.
However, Samet insisted after a late meeting that he stay the night in the apartment his employer had rented for him.
The first floor of the eight-story building collapsed in the middle of the night, crushing the lower level and causing the entire structure to tilt as the first tremors gave way to a stronger earthquake.
However, his parents’ house in Antakya had escaped with only minor damage, and they made frantic attempts to get in touch with Samet right away.
“His phone was still ringing when we called him,” Selma says.
She claims that despite the building being considered dangerous, the authorities’ rescue team was hesitant to approach it, responded slowly, and lacked the necessary equipment.
“When they came on the second day, the rescue team had no equipment.”
Four people were extricated alive from the building in the days that followed after Samet’s 53-year-old father, Metin, claimed he heard voices from beneath the debris. However, Samet was nowhere to be found.
Eventually, a gas leak sparked a fire, surely burning any possible survivors. Samets phone stopped ringing.
But the family persevered with their efforts to find out what had happened to Samet. Before the building was cleared, his father went back to retrieve some bones in the hopes that DNA testing would reveal a match.
After the first test came back negative, they asked for another, which produced the same result.
Nonetheless, the authorities issued a death certificate for Samet in June.
With a clutch of her son’s jumper, Selma bemoans, “We don’t even have a bone to bury.”
But this also allows for hope.
“There are moments when I feel like he could be alive and that he had a head injury and lost his memory,” she remarks.
‘Are they dead or alive?’: thousands missing after Turkey earthquake
FAQ
How many people lost their homes in the Turkey earthquake?
How many are missing in Turkey and Syria after the earthquake?
How many are the victims of the earthquake in Turkey?
How many people left Turkey after the earthquake?