Doha, Qatar: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is monitoring the situation after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria early today, followed by six 6-magnitude aftershocks. In Syria, there have been 676 deaths, 1,192 injuries, and 4,000 damaged buildings. In Turkey, the quake killed 912 people and injured 5,385 others, according to the latest data received at 01:00 pm.
In an emergency response, QRCS activated its Doha-based operations room and is keeping updated about the developments in Syria, through its representation mission in Turkey. It allocated 4,800 food parcels from its mission’s stock to be urgently distributed to the affected families in northern Syria.
Plans are considered to launch a large-scale emergency relief campaign, with a special focus on the most pressing needs at this point, especially food and nonfood items (NFIs), such as tents, blankets, tarpaulins, and hygiene kits. Describing the situation, Mazen Abdullah Salloum, head of QRCS’s mission in Turkey, said, “This is a big disaster, and the impact is indescribable. The population of the affected area experienced a horrible time. Thousands of buildings were totally or partially damaged”.
Faisal Mohamed Al-Emadi, CEO of QRCS, stated, “We are closely monitoring the aftermaths of the earthquake, and we are in communication with other humanitarian providers on updates”.
QRCS has a contingency stock of relief aid ready for shipment, which consists of 2,250 heavy blankets, 2,750 light blankets, 1,000 jerrycans, 3,000 mosquito nets, 2,000 tarpaulins, 500 shelter kits containing maintenance tools, and 1,360 family hygiene kits.
In light of the scale of damage and the nature of affected areas, especially in northern Syria, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live, the need for support is greater than the currently available resources. Therefore, QRCS calls upon all Qatari institutions and individuals to take action immediately and stand by the victims of the earthquake.
Source: Qatar Red Crescent Society