ReliefWeb

Background

An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude struck Eastern Turkey at 8.55 pm local time on 24 January, at a depth of 15km and centred near the district of Sivrice in eastern Elazig province. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reported that the province was shaken further by 1190 aftershocks. The earthquake mainly impacted Sivrice and Maden Districts in the Province of Elazığ and Pütürge District in the Province of the Malatya.

The death toll has reached 41 people while those injured was reported to be 1.607. 45 people have been rescued alive from wreckage so far. 76 buildings totally collapsed and another 645 sustained severe, moderate and slight damage.

Türk Kızılay’s Action

The Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay) became alerted from the very initial moments of the Earthquake and mobilized its disaster response units at national, regional and local levels across Turkey.

Türk Kızılay’s National Disaster Management Center in Ankara, Regional Disaster Management Centers in the regions have been operational on 7/24 basis. They are working in close coordination with Turkish NDMA (AFAD) at capital level and its extensions at provincial and district level.

Deployment

287 staff and volunteers including those specialized on crisis management, relief, humanitarian logistics, psycho-social support and health have been working in the field. 37 emergency response & communication vehicles, 14 trucks, 5 lorries, 7 mobile catering units and 1 mobile child friendly spaces were deployed to the field as well.

Mass Feeding

From the beginning of the disaster response efforts, TRC has already dispatched 111.411 ready-to-eat packages for people in need, 4 mobile kitchens and 2 field kitchen kits having capacity to serve hot meals to 5K (per kitchen) person daily were put in service. Thanks to the employment of this capacity, TRC has provided breakfast, hot meals and soups to 106.230 beneficiaries so far.

Mass Shelter

The affected people have been sheltered in the collective shelter centers that were established in the schools, sport centers, dormitories and hospices in the area. Türk Kızılay has dispatched 2.500 tents, 22.833 blankets, 7.833 mattresses, and 4.312 heaters to the affected area. Türk Kızılay teams have distributed 11.117 shelter items based on the needs identified by the local crisis management center.

The tents were erected in the recreational area to create a capacity to shelter more affectees in addition to those in the collective shelter centers established in the public buildings in Sivrice.

Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support

28 staff with expertise on psycho-social support, social services and health care have been working in the field. They have been conducting household visits, need assessment and psychological first aid, psycho-social activities in a mobile child friendly space, case management. They have covered cases linked to 1.181 affected people and 388 children up-to-date.

Healthcare

In an effort to support emergency healthcare, Türk Kızılay Blood Services provided 1.019 units of blood to the hospitals closed to the affected areas in the Elazığ and Malatya Provinces of Turkey.

Water and sanitation

Coordination with DSI (General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works) was ensured as a result of water shortage in areas with risk of contamination. Türk Kızılay dispatched 141.522 bottled water and 17.190 hygiene parcels to the affected area. The distribution of 21.947 bottled water was completed.

Voluntary participation

Having activated its branches and representative offices together with its volunteer capacity, TRC have more than 2.000 volunteers in the affected areas and they have helped distribution of relief items and setting up of tents

Contact information for further information specifically related to this operation:

Alper Uluca, Director of International Programs and Operations

Email: alper.uluca@kizilay.org.tr Mobile: +905530357077