23 Million People exposed by Destructive Earthquake – WHO
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that 23 million people are affected by the massive earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria and promised to provide long-term assistance.
Adelheid Marschang, WHO Senior Emergency Officer, said, “Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations.”
“Civilian infrastructure and potentially health infrastructure have been damaged across the affected region, mainly in Turkey and northwest Syria,” she said.
Marschang told the WHO’s executive committee in Geneva that the WHO considers that the main unaddressed needs may be in Syria in the immediate and mid-term.
The UN official stated in a special meeting in Geneva that the cold weather and aftershocks and the collapsed buildings makes it harder for rescue teams to search for victims who so far have reached 5.000 dead and 24.000 wounded in both Syria and Turkey.
“All over Syria, the needs are the highest after nearly 12 years of protracted, complex crisis, while humanitarian funding continues to decline.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “It is now a race against time,” explaining that the UN health agency is dispatching urgent aid to the area.
Several thousand buildings were destroyed in cities across Turkey-Syria border region aggravating the situation in the northwest Syria, a region that has already been troubled by war, insurgency, refugee crises and a recent cholera outbreak.
“The movement of aid through the border into northwest Syria is likely to be or is already disrupted due to the damage caused by the earthquake,” Marschang said.
“This in itself would be a huge crisis already,” the official added.