Earthquake death toll in Turkey, Syria passes 25,000

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey – Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster of the earthquakes in Turkey may continue due to less immediate dangers.

The aftershocks of the earthquake could also manifest in a lack of water and sanitation, as well as frigid temperatures.

IsraAID’s initial exploratory team assessed that clean water would be one of the major problems for area residents following the tremors. “There will be a massive need for clean water,” said IsraAID press officer Shachar May.

he World Health Organization is deploying expert teams and flights with medical supplies to Turkey and Syria after Monday's devastating earthquake.

It will send a high-level delegation to coordinate its response as well as three flights with medical supplies, one of which is already on its way to Istanbul, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing on Wednesday.

"The health needs are tremendous," said Dr Iman Shankiti, the WHO representative for Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednseday afternoon with IDF Home Front Command foreign rescue chief, Col. (res.) Golan Voch, who is leading the Israeli military's earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.

In the phone call, Netanyahu told Voch that the delegation's "humantiarian act brings a lot of respect to the State of Israel and shows its true face to the world." He also called on Voch to "do everything you can to save lives and stay safe."

Voch updated Netanyahu on the IDF's successful rescue of four earthquake victims thus far, with efforts ongoing to rescue two more. "This is the most successful day that any Israeli rescue delegation has ever had, due to [the political echelon]'s success in getting us out here quickly."

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also spoke with Voch, congratulating him and the delegation for their hard work in rescuing victims trapped under the rubbles.

Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s foremost defense technology companies, developed an application that is aiding Israel’s United Hatzalah forces as they engage in rescue efforts following the earthquake in Turkey.

The application, entitled SYNCH, is designed to bolster the collaboration between the medical personnel on the ground and United Hatzalah’s command center. 

SYNCH is installed on cellphones as an application, turning them into a combination of a walkie-talkie, WhatsApp and navigation and mapping device– making it an all-in-one application,” Elbit writes about the application in a press release.

Despite how new it is, SYNCH has already proven its applicability to real-life emergency situations. The app has been successfully put into use in the immediate wake of multi-casualty incidents.

The IDF's mission in Turkey remains ongoing as the death toll from the earthquakes continues to rise.

IDF Col. Golan Voch, “The delegation has 150 rescuers and is also building a field hospital. We are in the early days of searching to find and rescue people who are trapped. We did this very successfully so far.”

“We have already saved four people and are already working on saving a fifth person. There is also a possible chance to save a sixth person. This is a high level of success compared to how much time we have had to work,” said Voch.]

As Turkey deals with the consequences of the deadly earthquakes that struck the region on Monday, another potential hazard looms over the country: the security threat posed by the earthquake’s effect on the Turkish-Syrian border.

“The whole focus of Turkey and its allies is on how to respond to the devastating earthquake and its consequences,” Dr. Hamoon Khelghat-Doost, professor of political science at the University of Lincoln, UK, and Üsküdar University, Istanbul told The Media Line in an interview. The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks has already reached over 7,500, and the number is expected to continue to rise. Hundreds are trapped under the rubble and thousands of buildings were destroyed.

Turkey’s singular focus on responding to the earthquake could create favorable circumstances for terrorist organizations attempting to penetrate the border.

Turks stepped over hundreds of bodies in stadiums and parking lots on Wednesday, carefully lifting blankets from their faces to try to identify dead relatives after a once-in-a-generation earthquake devastated the region.

Nada, a Syrian woman, and her Turkish husband asked a staff member how best to find their niece and aunt among the more than 100 bodies lined up in the parking lot of the Hatay Research Hospital near the southern city of Antakya.

"Check one by one," they were told.

"My wife doesn't speak Turkish, and I can't see very well," said the husband, who did not give a name. "We have to check all the faces. We need help."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited southern Turkey on Wednesday to see first-hand the destruction wrought by a massive earthquake as anger grew among local people over what they said was a slow government response to the rescue and relief effort.

The confirmed death toll from Monday's quake, which struck a swathe of southern Turkey and neighboring Syria, rose to more than 11,000 people in both countries.

The tally was expected to rise as hundreds of collapsed buildings in many cities have become tombs for people who had been asleep in their homes when the quake hit in the early morning.

Pope Francis offered his prayers for the thousands of victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey on Wednesday and called on the international community to continue to support rescue and recovery efforts.

"I am praying for them with emotion and I wanted to say that I am close to these people, to the families of the victims and everyone who is suffering from this devastating disaster," he said

"I thank those who are offering help and encourage everyone to show solidarity with these countries, some of which have already been battered by a long war," he added at the end of his weekly audience in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican.

A Dutch expert published a tweet on his Twitter account three days before the earthquake in Turkey on Monday, predicting that a powerful earthquake would happen imminently in Turkey.

He even attached an aerial photograph and marked the area where the disaster would happen.

Dutch seismologist Frank Hoogerbeets, who works for the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGS) in the Netherlands, predicted the earthquake in Turkey on February 3.