Türkiye: 2023 Earthquakes Situation Report No. 2, As of 19 February 2023

This report is produced by the OCHA/UNDAC mission in Türkiye in collaboration with humanitarian partners and covers the humanitarian situation and earthquake response in Türkiye. Separate updates are issued for Syria.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

At 4:17 a.m. on 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck close to Gaziantep city in southern Türkiye – the most powerful earthquake recorded in the country since 1939. A second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred some nine hours later, with its epicentre only around 70 kilometres from the first earthquake, near Ekinozu city in Kahramanmaras province. On the same day, the Government of Türkiye issued a Level 4 alarm calling for international assistance, with the earthquakes having caused widespread destruction of houses and infrastructure in urban centres and rural areas across the country. Since 6 February, at least 5,700 aftershocks have occurred according to Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) on 18 February. On 18 February, the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change announced that 345,000 individual units in 90,609 buildings either collapsed or were heavily damaged.
On 7 February, the Government of Türkiye announced a 3-month state of emergency in 10 affected provinces: Adana,
Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. Some 15 million people live in these 10 provinces, including over 1.7 million Syrian refugees and around 4.6 million children. At least 9.1 million people have been directly impacted in the 11 most affected provinces, which include the 10 provinces in which a state of emergency has been declared (Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Kilis, Hatay, Malatya, Diyarbakir, Adana, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Sanliurfa) and Elazig. As of 18 February, 40,642 people were killed and more than 108,000 were injured due to the earthquakes, while over 430,000 people from affected areas have been relocated to other provinces, according to AFAD.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

The response to the earthquakes is being led by the Government of Türkiye, coordinated through AFAD and with the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC). The most urgent priority since the earthquake has been swift and effective urban search and rescue (USAR) operations and the provision of lifesaving assistance to people who have been affected.

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)

As of 19 February 2023, AFAD reports that 65 United Nations Classified and other International Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams are active on the ground, consisting of a total of 3,273 personnel supported by 77 search and rescue dogs.
The teams are working in the provinces of Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, and Hatay. A total of 191 international teams concluded search and rescue operations and have demobilized.
An UNDAC team has been deployed to Gaziantep and to four hubs in the affected area to support the coordination of USAR operations and to provide situational and humanitarian needs analysis.
To coordinate with AFAD, which is leading the response, an UNDAC liaison team has also been established in Ankara. As of 18 February, international USAR teams have completed 250 live rescues according to the USAR Coordination Cell (UCC).

Emergency Medical Teams (EMT)

Emergency medical teams (EMTs), coordinated by WHO in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, continue to support hospitals and medical facilities that have been damaged, particularly focusing on trauma patients and catastrophic injuries. As of 18 February, 29 EMTs are active in country following approval by the Ministry of Health.

Humanitarian Aid

According to AFAD as of 16 February, a total of 354 mobile kitchens, 86 catering vehicles, 38 mobile bakeries and 330 service vehicles were dispatched to the region by TRC, AFAD, Ministry of National Defense, Gendarmerie and NGO partners. A total of 386,874 tents have been received. Psychosocial support was provided to a total of 498,225 people, 382,565 in the earthquake zone and 115,660 outside.
The international humanitarian community is supporting the Government of Türkiye to aid the affected population. On 7 February, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) announced US$25 million to support people in Türkiye and Syria who have been affected by the earthquake. On 16 February, the United Nations launched an appeal for US$1 billion so humanitarian agencies can help 5.2 million people affected by the cataclysmic earthquakes. The resources will allow humanitarian organizations to swiftly ramp up their operations to support Government-led response efforts in the areas of food security, protection, education, water, and shelter, among others. Examples of ongoing efforts are as follows:
As of 16 February, WFP delivered food commodities to 42 municipal community kitchens in 33 municipalities across 11 provinces: Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Mardin, Mersin and Sanliurfa.
This will enable these municipalities to distribute cooked meals to 227,679 people over 14 days. Overall, WFP will reach 55 municipalities with food commodities. In addition, WFP delivered 19,200 family food packages to 96,000 affected people in Adana, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, and Osmaniye in coordination with the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM).
As of 16 February, UNICEF has reached nearly 218,000 people including over 132,000 children with critical supplies including hygiene kits, winter clothes, electrical heaters and jerrycans. In addition, UNICEF trained approximately 2,500 social workers from the Ministry of Family and Social Services (MoFSS) who have been providing psychosocial support activities in affected areas and evacuated provinces reaching more than 193,000 affected people.
Over 3,200 children and 40 caregivers were also reached by UNICEF with psychological first aid and recreation activities in Gaziantep, Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir provinces.
As of 16 February, UNHCR has provided 19,500 high thermal blankets, 12,000 foam mattresses and 19,500 kitchen sets, 12,000 supplementary food packs as well as heaters, hygiene items, winter clothes and boots, and other standard core relief items to PMM for distribution in the 12 Temporary Accommodation Shelters (TAC). UNHCR has also provided AFAD with close to 14,300 family tents, some 600 all-weather tents, 10,000 tarpaulin, 6,000 high-thermal blankets, and nearly 12,000 hygiene parcels.