Attachments
OPERATIONAL STRATEGY REVISION
The initial Operational Strategy was produced in the first weeks of the response; its aim has naturally evolved as the needs and priorities on the ground have shifted and the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC)’s operational approach came further into focus. This Revised Operational Strategy captures priorities as they have been implemented in the field since the beginning of the response, but also integrates planned early recovery and recovery actions, as described in the TRC’s recently published Recovery Plan.
Funding requirements for multilateral support via the IFRC Secretariat have only slightly increased but requested resources have been reallocated across key sectors to better reflect implementation costs so far, as well as emerging priorities.
New activities now integrated in this Revised Operational Strategy, in line with early recovery and recovery priorities, include:
• Shelter, Housing and Settlements: fully furnished containers
• Food: cash assistance for food, transition from hot meals to food parcels
• Livelihoods: increased cash assistance for rural livelihoods, small-to-medium businesses grants
• Health and Care: cash assistance for health (health equipment, medicine, medical treatment, people living with disabilities)
• WASH: increased WASH services in temporary settlements (through water tanks, shower units, laundry units)
Planned operations have also been revised to take into account the bilateral contributions from Partner National Societies in the areas of health, most especially in support of mobile health units and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred in Türkiye at 04:17 on 6 February 2023, followed by 83 aftershocks at a maximum level of 6.7. An additional separate earthquake of 7.6 occurred at 13:24 the following day in the same region. The areas of Adıyaman, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, and Malatya were reportedly the hardest hit.
Almost two weeks after the initial earthquake, a separate 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the Defne district, close to the Syrian border in Hatay province, on 20 February. This was followed by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake on the same evening in Samandag district, Hatay, causing further destruction to the already heavily damaged area. Since 6 February, over 24,000 tremors were recorded in the area.
According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), as of 11 May 2023, more than 108,000 people were reportedly injured and more than 50,000 lost their lives following the earthquakes. Approximately three million people have been displaced, including an estimated 528,146 evacuated by the government. More than half a million buildings have sustained damage, of which at more than 300,000 have either collapsed or been severely damaged.
Roads were equally seriously damaged in the affected areas, hampering access to the affected communities in remote villages and districts, primarily in the early days of the disaster. Significant numbers of medical service centres were affected, with 15 hospitals across 10 provinces damaged. According to the latest statement from AFAD, an estimated 16 million people were affected, with 9.1 million people directly affected, and 17 provinces were impacted. The earthquakes struck in areas that have been impacted, since 2011, by the protracted humanitarian crisis linked to the civil war in Syria.
Before the disaster, the affected region was already hosting approximately 1.8 million Syrian refugees, which represented, as of January 2023, 47% of all Syrian refugees in the country. These populations live in Türkiye under the temporary protection regime, which allows them residency and access to social services. Tensions between refugees and host communities had been rising before the earthquakes, and the past three years have seen a steady degradation of social cohesion in the affected areas. The disaster has put even more pressure on both the refugee populations and host communities, stretching limited capacities.
The ongoing economic crisis is also of concern, especially considering that the region affected by the earthquakes already presented higher poverty rates than in coastal areas.
The disaster impacted critical infrastructure and led to extensive loss of livelihoods: losses and damage to crops, food stocks, agricultural infrastructure and assets, and livestock production are estimated at USD 6.4 billion.nTwo months after the disaster, the combined effects of the destruction of workplaces, interruption of economic activities, loss of life, injuries, and internal displacement has still severely compromised the ability of households to meet their basic needs.