According to a prominent seismologist, two massive earthquakes (7.7 and 7.6) in Türkiye, which struck the region on the 6th of February 2023, have been recorded as the worst inland shallow earthquake since 2000. By the 9th of February, Türkiye’s disaster management agency, AFAD, reported that 14.351 people were killed and 63.794 others were injured. More than 6,000 buildings collapsed due to the two earthquakes that occurred in less than 10 hours.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces, Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis, Adana, Osmaniye, Malatya, and Diyarbakır, worst-affected by the earthquakes. 115.688 people from AFAD, PAK (Police Search and Rescue), JAK (Gendarmerie Search and Rescue), JÖAK (Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command), DISAK (Maritime Search and Rescue), Coast Guard, DAK (Mountain Search and Rescue), Ministry of National Defense, General Directorate of Security, Gendarmerie, UMKE (National Medical Rescue Team), Fire Department, Ministry of National Education, NGOs, Volunteers, Security Units, Local Support Teams, and international search and rescue workers have been working on the disaster areas. A total of 6.479 teams from countries have contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer assistance and have been deployed to earthquake areas. 1
Both teams of RET International and RET’s local partner LEAP Turkiye, have been mobilized and are on the ground in multiple affected areas. We are closely coordinating with governmental and civil society partners in Turkiye. In partnership with AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency), and thanks to the generous support of the Government of Liechtenstein, we managed to procure and rally the distribution of more than 1000 coats for children (2-6 and 7-11 years old), 1588 hygiene kits for kids, 10000 dignity kits to affected people in Hatay, Gaziantep, and Kahramanmaraş. We also delivered 17 tons of flour in Şanlıurfa to the Municipality of Şanlıurfa. We have been working on new procurements and will soon resume distributing more in-kind items.