A month after the quake, survivors need shelter

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – A month after a powerful earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, hundreds of thousands of people are still in need of adequate shelter and sanitation, and of the billion dollars requested to help survivors, only 10% has been collected, hampering efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis, a United Nations official said on Monday.

The February 6 earthquake and strong aftershocks killed nearly 47,000 people in Turkey, destroyed or damaged around 214,000 structures and left hundreds of thousands homeless, making it the worst disaster in modern history. Turkey. The UN estimates the quake killed some 6,000 people in Syria, mostly in the rebel-held northwest.

About two million survivors have been housed in temporary shelters or evacuated from the quake-ravaged region, according to Turkish government figures. About 1.5 million people have moved into tents and another 46,000 have been moved to containers adapted as living quarters. Others live in dormitories and guesthouses, the government said.

“Given the number of people who have been relocated, the number of people injured and the level of devastation, we now have enormous humanitarian needs,” Álvaro Rodríguez, the United Nations resident coordinator in the country, told The Associated Press. Turkey. .

The UN representative added that tents are still needed despite not being “the optimal solution” to house people and pointed to some cases of scabies outbreaks due to poor sanitary conditions.

Last month, the UN issued an urgent appeal for $397.6 million to help victims of the earthquake in Syria and $1 billion for victims in Turkey to cover emergency needs such as food, protection, education, water and shelter, for three months. Rodríguez said that barely 10% of what was requested for Turkey had been obtained.