As temperatures rise, earthquake victims face mounting problems in southeastern Turkey

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This photo taken on February 19, 2023 shows women carrying buckets of water in Yaylkonak village in Adiyaman district, an Alevi Kurdish village where 108 people were killed and 170 homes collapsed after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit parts of Turkey and Syria. Bulent Kelia/AFP

The Turkish Independent Service reports that earthquake survivors in southeastern Turkey are facing increasing problems as summer approaches and the need for decent housing becomes paramount.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep – home to about 2 million people and on the border with Syria – while people were sleeping on February 6, followed by dozens of aftershocks, including a 7.5-magnitude quake that shook the region. amid search and rescue efforts the same day.

With temperatures expected to soar to 40 °C (104 °F), survivors living in tent cities will need things like air conditioners and refrigerators. However, many are not optimistic that the government will be able to meet their needs.

While access to water remains limited in the region, the increasing heat has raised concerns about maintaining hygiene. Flies, insects, and mice have become serious problems in tent cities, and disease outbreaks are expected.

An earthquake victim who is currently living in a container with his family said that the nearest communal bathrooms with running water were 45 kilometers away from where they lived. “We get 18 liters of water every Tuesday and Thursday, but it’s barely enough,” he said. “What are we supposed to do with it? A shower? Use it in the toilet or the kitchen? They do distribute water at the fair, but it’s 12 kilometers from here, and how are we supposed to go that far every day?”

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, a lot of clothes were donated, but it was winter clothes. With summer approaching, the survivors urgently need summer clothes, shoes and underwear.

Victims said that the authorities did not seem concerned about these needs and that they were left to their own devices.

Another victim said, “The donations are not enough.” “The authorities help us with food, but we only provide things like rice, wheat and bread. Our children need fruit, vegetables and protein. The government needs to make sending these things to the earthquake zone a priority.”

Many agreed that the humanitarian aid was not distributed evenly and was mainly sent to organized tent cities. They urged the authorities to ensure that assistance also reaches people who do not live in tent cities.

“We all need help, not just the people who live in tent cities. Many of the victims could not find a place in the tent cities and live in a tent in their garden or in a container. Most of the time, they are facing These people have difficulties accessing aid, and humanitarian actors go above and beyond when providing assistance.”

The earthquakes, which, according to a recent study by Chinese researchers, were the most likely to cause massive devastation on the ground anywhere in the world, caused massive devastation in more than a dozen provinces in the south and southeast of the country as well as in parts of Syria. .

The death toll has risen since February 6 as new bodies were discovered while clearing the rubble of demolished buildings.

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