On February 6th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey. 41,000 people have been determined dead, but the toll will continue to rise. It has also been reported that over 87,000 people were injured, and that over 47,000 buildings have been destroyed or at the very least, damaged. One reason that so many people died in this earthquake was that it hit at 4:17am (Turkey time), near the Syrian border. Most people were at home, asleep, and caught by surprise in the night. It struck at a depth of 11 miles. Since the original earthquake, over 1,600 aftershocks have been reported. It has been noted that 9 million of 85 million citizens of Turkey have been affected by this earthquake. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, 4.6 million children in the earthquake affected areas (Turkey) have been affected, with an additional 2.5 million children affected in Syria, most likely more. 

There are already raging cold temperatures, and now many families are being left homeless because of all the earthquakes. This leaves the very possible chance of many people getting frostbite. Families are also much more at risk to family separation, because of the difficulty when trying to get out of your home before it crumbles to the ground. 

After the quakes happen, there is lots of rubble left behind. Many young children as well as adults have been trapped under rubble for many hours. Recently, there was a 10 year old girl found, along with an adult male, and a toddler. The girl, named Cudi, had been trapped for a total of 147 hours! 

In Syria, two siblings were stuck under the rubble together. The girl, named Jinan, gently stroked her younger siblings’ hair. She was able to move her arm enough to protect her siblings face from dust and more rubble. 

World Vision has helped so many people since these earthquakes. They have provided 17,000 liters of fuel, 57,000 medical consultants, and 11,490 ready-to-eat meals. But even with the help Turkey and Syria are receiving, it doesn’t stop the devastating news from rolling in. 

Another devastating earthquake shook southern Turkey near the Syrian border on February 20th, with an altitude of 6.3, just after 8:00 pm local time. 

Luck and love are being sent their way! 

Cites

https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2023-turkey-and-syria-earthquake-faqs

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/07/middleeast/syria-quake-siblings-rescued-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/children-among-those-pulled-destroyed-buildings-turkeys-hatay-2023-02-12/

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