Turkey-Syria earthquake- latest: Desperation grips Syria as food supplies start to run out
Death toll passes 21,000 as hundreds still trapped under mountains of rubble
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Your support makes all the difference.Reeling from the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Syrians are now facing starvation as food stocks are beginning to run out in the northwest of the country.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday it was running out of stocks and called to open more border crossings from Turkey after both countries were ravaged by the natural disaster.
“Northwest Syria, where 90 per cent of the population depends on humanitarian assistance, is a big concern. We have reached the people there, but we need to replenish our stocks,” Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe, told reporters.
“We are running out of stocks and we need access to bring new stocks in. The border crossing is open now, but we need to get new border crossings open.”
The Independent is asking readers to donate to its appeal, with all funds raised going to the Disasters Emergency Committee, which brings together leading UK aid charities to help with the search and rescue effort and provide vital medicines, clean water and temporary accommodation for survivors.
UNHCR: Five million Syrians ‘left homeless by earthquake’
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees worrying reported that up to 5.3 million Synrians in the country’s northwest may have been left homeless by the earthquakes.
In a statement, the UNHCR said that the country is now in the “depths” of winter, as many people have been forced to sleep outside due to fears of another earthquake or damage to their homes.
The refugee agency said: “For Syria, this is a crisis within a crisis.
“We’ve had economic shocks, COVID and are now in the depths of winter, with blizzards raging in the affected areas.
“A number of our own staff are sleeping outside their homes because they are worried about the structural damage to their homes. This is just a microcosm of what is happening throughout the affected areas.
“All this, of course, impacts the access for aid. Roads have been damaged and that hampers us trying to reach people. It’s been very, very difficult. There are 6.8 million people already internally displaced in the country. And this was before the earthquake.”
Financial help grows for Turkey and Syria
Financial aid is growing for Syria and Turkey, following the devastating earthquake that has seen the death toll rise to 22,000.
Governments and international organisations are now stepping up their financial support, as they funnel more financial resources into the stricken regions.
The World Bank has today announced that it is committing £650 million ($780 million) to help Turkey rebuild its infrastructure. It is also preparing a further £830 million ($1 billion) in support.
Meanwhile, the United States has said it would provide £71 million ($85 million) to fund humanitarian efforts.
The EU, UK, China and Australia are also among those countries that have said they would contribute millions of dollars in funding.
Humberto Lopez, the World Bank Country Director for the Republic of Turkey, said: “Turkey’s immediate and future needs are immense and span the whole range from relief to reconstruction.”
Earthquake zone has been likened to ‘Armageddon’
The earthquake zone in Turkey has been likened to ‘Armageddon’ by the head of Britain’s official rapid response team.
David O’Neill, 51, leader of the UK International Search and Rescue team has said that his team of responders are still rescuing people days after the earthquake, which struck in the early hours of February 6.
He said: I’ve never seen anything like it. One of my own team described it as Armageddon.
“It looks horrendous, then you turn a corner and it looks worse.”
The first non-governmental team of British responders to arrive in Turkey was Saraid, a charity that provides disaster zone Search and Rescue expertise.
Daniel Craig’s emotional appeal for help
We’re ending our coverage of the Turkey earthquake disaster for the night but keep checking independent.co.uk for the latest updates.
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