ReliefWeb

1. Overview

On 24 January 2020 at 20:55 local time, an earthquake of 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the provinces of Elazığ and Malatya in Eastern Turkey, causing widespread destruction. According to official updates 24 hours after the disaster, the earthquake has killed 29 people, leaving 1,466 injured.

The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance is not yet clear, however, a population of 147,294 who live within a 30 km radius from the epicenter are believed to be affected. A total of 19 districts in the two provinces have been severely affected, with dozens of villages having felt strong tremors, some of them destroyed as a result.

Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing with a few dozen people believed to be still under the rubbles. Some of the affected towns and villages have still not been reached as of the evening of 25 January.

2. STL’s Assessment in the Area

Support to Life (STL) is present in the earthquake-affected area since the morning of 25 January, with the presence of 3 teams – two from STL Diyarbakir office and one from STL Sanliurfa office, led by STL Operations Coordinator.

As soon as one of the teams arrived in Elazığ city center, a meeting was held with the Crisis Management Unit of the Governorate. The Provincial Directorates for Emergency and Disaster Management (AFAD) were contacted as well as civil society groups on the ground to ensure coordination.

STL team started its emergency assessment activities in the villages and mahalles of the two affected provinces. Emergency assessment has focused on relief needs in the sectors of shelter and NFIs, food, WASH, education, health and psychological support.

In addition to phone calls to Mukhtars and meetings with local government representatives, data has been collected via individual interviews with village communities.

Phone calls were made to the following Mukhtars and community leaders in 20 districts of Elazığ and Malatya:

During the full day on 25 January, 3 STL teams have visited over 40 villages. Around 30 villages and mahalles were visited in Elazığ, covering the city center, Maden, Sivrice and Gezin districts. Over 10 villages and mahalles were visited in the districts of Malatya province.