Mobilising resources: Türkiye's efforts to tackle earthquake devastation

Two  7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes rocked southeastern Türkiye on February 6, followed by over 2,700 aftershocks.

As of Monday February 13, the death toll surpassed 31,643 in Türkiye, with more than 79,000 individuals being injured and 86,754 people have been evacuated from quake-hit areas.

Türkiye has taken action with all its institutions and resources since Monday's deadly earthquakes in its southern provinces, said Türkiye’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.

"We have mobilized all our resources. The state is working with municipalities, especially AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency), with all its means," Erdogan said as he inspected relief efforts in Kahramanmaras province, where two powerful quakes that shook the region were centered, affecting more than 13 million people.

Here is a quick round up of the key resources mobilised for quake-hit areas.

Rescue teams on the ground 

A total of 159,146 search and rescue workers from AFAD, national security units, local support teams, NGOs and volunteers have been deployed to earthquake areas.

After the quakes, condolences poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.

A total of 7,716 teams from foreign countries who had contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer assistance and have been deployed to earthquake areas.

Vehicles and Heavy Equipments

A total of 12,026 vehicles, including construction equipment including excavators, tractors, cranes, dozers, trucks, water tenders, trailers, graders and vacuum trucks have also been deployed to the affected zones.

Aerial vehicles and  ships

An air bridge for the deployment of personnel and equipment with 166 aircrafts have been build by Air and Land Forces, the Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard .

A total of 26 ships, 24 ships by the Naval Forces, and 2 ship by the Coast Guard Command were employed to deliver personnel and aids to the affected area.

Shelters and container city

A total of 1,507,494 blankets and 170,902 medical tents were sent to the 10 quake-hit provinces from AFAD, The Turkish Red Crescent and the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. 102,274 AFAD Family Tent was installed in the region.

Recently AFAD on Twitter declared that they “continue to work on the construction of a container city with a capacity of 10,500 people”.

Medical and Psychological Support

In the provinces of Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, and Malatya, 4 mobilized Social Service Centers are installed. 164 vehicles and 1,644 officers have been dispatched to the area. A total of 64,331 people received psychosocial care, including 7,015 outside the earthquake-affected areas and 57,316 inside the earthquake zone.

So far a total of 21,631 injured patients were transferred to other provinces outside earthquake regions for treatment. 1,174 by air vehicles, 20,130 by land ambulances and 327 by sea vehicles.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca addressing the media together with Hulusi Akar, minister of national defense stated that almost all university hospitals in Hatay provides health services 24/7, only 64 beds out of 600-bed capacity and 28 of 72 intensive care beds are full, he added.

“Health services are provided in full in other provinces as well. The personnel we have assigned to the region serve wholeheartedly. I specifically request our health personnel who want to participate in health services voluntarily in the earthquake area, to stay and report the number of decrease in patients to the provincial health directorates.”

1,430 pregnant women were reached in the earthquake-hit provinces, and 2,840 babies were born.

The health minister further remarked that 80,516 tetanus vaccines and 3,000 doses of tetanus serum have been immediately dispatched to the affected regions. “All the health care personnel working in earthquake zones with affected family members will be given an administrative leave,” he added.

Other countries have also established field hospitals in affected zones, helping thousands of rescued patients from the early days of the earthquake.

Medical aid from around the world

An Israeli military field hospital established near Kahramanmaras, has treated more than 180 people, including Syrians and refugees.

Another field hospital set by 90 medics of the Indian Land Forces in Türkiye’s Hatay province has treated 1,300 injured earthquake victims in 3 days.  

Belgium also will set up a temporary infrastructure to provide care for about 100 people daily with an additional 20 patients to stay overnight for observation. The hospital is expected to be in place for several weeks. 

France, alongside sending regional rescue teams, will deploy the emergency services rapid medical intervention unit (ESCRIM) that will be stationed in Türkiye to assist in the treatment of earthquake victims and to support hospitals that have suffered damage. ESCRIM has two surgical rooms and a 1,000-square-meter floor area. It can house up to 100 patients each day. 87 staff members will be enlisted to deploy this autonomous hospital structure.

READ MORE: Another emergency aid shipment heads to Türkiye from India: envoy