Catastrophic Turkey-Syria Earthquake Crisis Leaves Many Dead and in Need

By Shoshana Newman ‘24 
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria in early February, followed by a second one of equal strength only a few weeks later. Now, one month after two earthquakes destroyed the region, over 50,000 have been killed, with over 100,000 injured.

The first earthquake struck near the city of Gaziantep in western Turkey and was followed shortly afterwards by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit around 80 miles away in the Elbistan district. Both earthquakes are estimated to have affected 26 million people throughout Turkey and Syria. 
Since the two large earthquakes in Turkey, there have been several others in the region, each ranging in magnitude and causing further damage, aftershocks and deaths.
“I was shocked to find out about the several earthquakes that followed the first one,” said junior Mimi Lebeau. “It can be terrifying to think of the destructive and fatal aftermath.” 
On February 20, a secondary earthquake with magnitude 6.4 hit, killing 8 and injuring 300. This series of quakes destroyed thousands of homes in both Turkey and Syria, in addition to hospitals, bridges and roads. Temporary shelters from various humanitarian outreach organizations have helped 3,000 people, yet is dwarfed in comparison by the 380,000 people living in schools and education centers throughout the region. 
In Turkey, there are over 35,000 reported deaths from the earthquakes and their aftermath, with more than 5,000 in Syria, along with extensive damage to buildings and other forms of infrastructure in both nations. “Understanding the severity of these issues I was wondering why I had not heard about all the deaths reported,” said junior Eliana Finkel. “America needs to be getting involved and providing humanitarian aid as soon as possible.”
Attention has shifted to giving essential aid to survivors who lost loved ones, belongings and their homes in the earthquake, with the Red Crescent and International Red Cross in both countries helping with rescue efforts and providing emergency medical treatment and services. 
In Turkey, the Turkish Red Crescent has begun a crisis response operation in more than 10 areas across the country, while in Syria, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is aiding those in need– in particular, the devastated regions of Hama, Aleppo and Lattakia. 
Assessment Capacities Projects (ACAPS), a nonprofit, nongovernmental project with the goal of directing independent, groundbreaking analysis to aid humanitarian workers, reports that the current humanitarian crisis in the region is approaching the projected worst case scenario to come from the earthquakes. “I do not know how much worse it can get,” said junior Aliza Bieber, “although it is amazing how much help many organizations are bringing to Turkey and Syria.”
Syria’s current humanitarian emergency is one of the largest in the world and the recurring earthquakes will only aggravate the situation. In Syria, providing aid quickly is challenging, as the government has virtually no control over the country’s northwest, the area most affected by the crisis. To solve this, the UN is sending much-needed resources and funding there directly, while the rest of Syria is being aided by the Syrian government.