Turkiye quake Europe’s worst natural disaster in ‘a century’: WHO

COPENHAGEN: The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that last week´s massive earthquake, the epicentre of which was in Turkiye, constituted the “worst natural disaster” in 100 years in its Europe region.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by a major aftershock, on February 6 has now killed more than 35,000 people in Turkiye and neighbouring Syria. “We are witnessing the worst natural disaster in the WHO European region for a century and we are still learning about its magnitude,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, told a press conference.

The WHO´s European region comprises 53 countries, including Turkey. Syria is a member of the WHO´s neighbouring Eastern Mediterranean region. Kluge also said the health body had “initiated the largest deployment of emergency medical teams” in the 75-year history of the WHO European region.

“Twenty-two emergency medical teams have arrived in Turkiye so far,” Kluge noted, adding they would integrate into “Turkiye´s ongoing health response”. The confirmed death toll following the earthquake stands at 35,331, as officials and medics said 31,643 people had died in Turkiye and at least 3,688 in Syria.

The toll has barely changed in Syria for several days and is expected to rise. “The needs are huge, increasing by the hour. Some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian assistance,” Kluge said.

Meanwhile, more than seven million children have been affected by the massive earthquake and a major aftershock that devastated Turkiye and Syria last week, the United Nations said on Tuesday, voicing fear that “many thousands” more had died.

“In Turkiye, the total number of children living in the 10 provinces hit by the two earthquakes was 4.6 million children. In Syria, 2.5 million children are affected,” James Elder, spokesman for the UN children´s agency Unicef, told reporters in Geneva.

He spoke as rescue teams began winding down the search for survivors from the disastrous quake that has left more than 35,000 dead in the two countries. “Unicef fears many thousands of children have been killed,” Elder said, warning that “even without verified numbers, it is tragically clear that numbers will continue grow.”

He said he feared the final toll would be “mind-boggling.” Given the catastrophic, and ever-increasing, death toll, he said it was obvious that “many, many children will have lost parents in these devastating earthquakes.” “It will be a terrifying figure,” he warned.