Officials from the United States Military said Tuesday that aid has been sent to Turkey and Syria by the United States European Command following two devastating earthquakes in the last 24 hours. These disasters claimed the lives of thousands.
“Using a whole of government approach, we remain in close contact with our Turkish Ally to determine what assistance is needed to help those affected by the disaster,”Marine Lieutenant Col. Garron J. Garn stated this in a statement for Military Times.
Parts of Turkey and Syria were devastated by two earthquakes that struck 7.8 magnitudes and 7.5 magnitudes. The events left approximately 3,000 buildings destroyed, and around 7,200 people homeless.
Nearly 1,500 people have been killed in Syria and 5,400 in Turkey. Rescue workers are continuing to look for survivors in the wake of the worst natural disaster since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, which killed over 30,000.
It is located on faultlines. In the area affected by the earthquake, the dire situation is compounded by the presence of millions of refugees displaced by years-long civil war in Syria who were taking refuge on both sides of Turkey and Syria’s border.
Garn stated that the command coordinates with the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance in order to determine what resources are available for support to requests from the Turkish government.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey by President Joe Biden said that the United States is ready and available to help. “any and all needed assistance”NATO Ally as a response to this tragedy.
Biden stated that “U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items,” a readout of Biden’s conversation with Erdogan said on February 6.
USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development) and USAF sent the initial round of assistance from Dover, Delaware.
“Airmen from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron processed U.S. humanitarian assistance Feb. 7, 2023, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, in support of search and rescue efforts in [Turkey],”The U.S. Air Forces in Europe page and the Air Forces Africa facebook page.
Turkey’s President Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for 10 provinces that were affected by the terrible earthquakes. It will last three months.
“We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure that our [rescue and recovery] work can be carried out quickly,” Erdogan said, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the Epoch Times, international assistance for Syria and Turkey in Damascus has come from around the globe.
The U.K. and Romania sent teams to Turkey while France, Israel and Germany reportedly offered assistance. India sent 99 members of a medical team equipped with X-ray machines and oxygen generator plants, as well as cardiac monitors, to help set up a medical center that can accommodate 30 beds.
According to NBC, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that a group of 77 British rescue and search personnel arrived today in Gaziantep, Turkey, with special equipment and dogs, in response to a request by the Turkish government. They would then assist with the rescue efforts.
Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), warned that death could increase to around 20,000 as rescue crews continue to search for survivors.
“It’s now a race against time. Every minute, every hour that passes, the chances of finding survivors alive diminishes,”Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the Director-General of World Health Organization. He spoke in briefings on Tuesday.
This report was contributed by Zach Jewell
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