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UPDATED 3/2/23
Earthquakes in Turkey
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Thanks to generous people like you, Lutheran World Relief is delivering aid and support to survivors of the earthquakes in Turkey.
We are bringing our decades of experience responding to humanitarian crises together with the expertise from across our Corus International family to care for children, women and men devastated by the quakes.
As of February 25, 2023, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), more than 130,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged, and more than 500,000 people citizens have been evacuated from the affected provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, and Elazığ. More than 1.9 million people are sheltering in temporary or short-term housing, including tents, containers, dormitories, hotels, public guesthouses and other facilities.
Emergency Response to date
We have deployed members of our Humanitarian Action team to Turkey to support response operations and are coordinating with local organizations, UN agencies and other international humanitarian organizations to ensure aid is delivered effectively, without duplication, and meeting most urgent needs.
Our Humanitarian Action conducted rapid assessments in Kilis, Islahiye, Nurdagi and Antakya and found that earthquake survivors are most in need of shelter, food, hygiene supplies, toilets and bathing facilities and basic household items. The needs assessments are informing our response activities.
Response activities:
Providing shelter and support for earthquake survivors whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged: In Kirikhan, a district in Hatay Province extremely hard hit by the quakes, we are supporting the development of a prefabricated container housing community. The units are designed to shelter families for up to three years. This longer-term, secure housing is especially critical for the safety of women and children.
We are supporting at least 35 units in the 500-unit community. Each unit has running water and includes two rooms, a cooking area and a bathroom with a shower and toilet.
Additionally, we are working with our local partner to supply all 500 families living in the container community with emergency hygiene packages and monthly food packages. The hygiene packages are expected to include liquid soap, shampoo, hand and bath soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, toilet paper, wet wipes, feminine hygiene products, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, dish sponge, diapers, and nail scissors. The food packages are expected to include sunflower oil, rice, bulgur, lentils, beans, chickpeas, barley noodles, pasta, tea, sugar, ready soup, tomato paste, salt, olives, crackers, tahini, and molasses.
Supplying food, clothing and essential supplies. We airlifted urgently needed supplies including tents, tarps, winter clothing and solar lights. An initial shipment arrived in Turkey on February 20. We are also coordinating with partners to distribute ready-to-eat food, health and hygiene kits, feminine hygiene kits and baby care packages including diapers, formula, bottles. And we are preparing to ship LWR Quilts, Baby Care Kits and Personal Care Kits.
We will expand our response to reach more earthquake survivors as we secure additional funding. We expect to support primary health care delivery, psychosocial counseling and protection activities for earthquake survivors in short-term and temporary housing camps. We also expect to provide additional hygiene services, including supplying clean water and toilets.
Senior Director for Humanitarian Operations, Fred McCray, on the situation in Turkey and Syria
