THE TURKEY AND SYRIA EARTHQUAKE

On 6th February 2023, the Kahramanmaras earthquake struck northern and western Syria and southern and central Turkey. The death toll as of March stands at over 50,000 people; approximately 90% of those deaths were caused in Turkey. Thousands have been left homeless as a result of the destruction and some Turkish people have been displeased with the way in which the government is handling it.

Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, promised to rebuild the damage. He hopes to achieve this over the coming year by building 400,000 new housing units in the most affected areas by the earthquake. However, exports worry that rebuilding so quickly, while the sites are still experiencing aftershocks, may lead to poor construction. In the event of another earthquake, this may be a contributing factor to the damage and death toll. Erdogan is up for re-election in May; experts say this disaster may greatly damage his outcome due to arguably unrealistic promises

By Claudia SchroderSmith

What is the UK doing to help?

The UK government announced that they would be sending items such as tents and blankets in order to combat the amount of people who have been displaced from their homes, aiming to provide for 15,000 people. Due to mass injury, remaining hospitals have been under extreme strain; a surgical team will help with urgent medical needs

What can you do to help?

To help those in Turkey and Syria you can donate money to charities like British Red Cross and International Rescue Committee which helps provides for clothing and general essentials such as water, blankets and tents