Disaster

On 23 October 2011, Turkey was a struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, affecting 650,000 people. In total, 644 people died and a further 2,500 were injured or hospitalised. Since October, the British Red Cross Turkey Earthquake Appeal has raised over £190,000 to help survivors. The appeal has now closed, but donations will continue to help the Turkish Red Crescent support survivors.

Without home but not without hope

The Government of Kuwait has contributed US$ 250,000 to UNDP to finance relief operations in Van province, eastern Turkey, a region that was struck by two earthquakes in October and November last year.

Ankara — The money, part of a wider international emergency response to the earthquakes, will be used as part of UNDP’s planned recovery activities in Van, following a request for assistance from the Turkish Government.

NEW YORK, 24 January 2012 – The State of Kuwait has contributed $250,000 to UNICEF in Turkey to support UNICEF's humanitarian response to victims of the Van earthquake. The support was announced by His Excellency Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations.

302 human impact disasters claimed 29,782 lives; affected 206 million and inflicted record economic damages of $366 billion in 2011

Geneva, 18 January 2012 – For two consecutive years the long-term disasters trend has been bucked by major earthquakes which claimed thousands of lives and affected millions in both 2010 and 2011, according to new statistics published today by CRED and the UN office for disaster risk reduction, UNISDR.

Reacting to the earthquake that rocked east Turkey on October 23rd, 2011, AAR JAPAN deployed 3 staff members on October 26th to help with the relief effort through distribution of food and daily necessities. Right in the midst of our efforts in the affected area, a strong aftershock again hit the same area, and unfortunately, one of our staff members Atsushi MIYAZAKI lost his life in a collapse hotel building.