A month after quake, survivors struggle for shelter, sanitation

One month after a powerful quake devastated parts of Turkiye and Syria hundreds of thousands of people still need adequate shelter and sanitation and an appeal for USD 1 billion to assist survivors is only 10 per cent funded hampering efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis a United Nations official said on MondayThe February 6 earthquake and strong aftershocks have killed close to 47000 people in Turkiye destroyed or damaged around 214000 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless making it the worst disaster in Turkeys modern historyThe UN estimates that the earthquake killed around 6000 people in Syria mainly in the rebelheld northwestAbout 2 million survivors have been housed in temporary accommodation or evacuated from the earthquakedevastated region according to Turkish government figuresAround 15 million people have been settled in tents while another 46000 have been moved to container houses Others are living in dormitories and guesthouses the government saidGiven the number of people that have been relocated given the number of people that have been injured and given the level of the devastation we do have extensive humanitarian needs now Alvaro Rodriguez the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey told The Associated PressWe have some provinces where up to 25 per cent of the population were talking sometimes half a million people have relocated So the challenge we have is how do we provide food shelter water for these communities he saidThe UN representative said tents are still needed even though they are not the optimal solution for sheltering people He reported some cases of scabies outbreaks because of poor sanitary conditionsLast month the UN made a flash appeal for USD 3976 million to help Syrian quake victims and USD 1 billion appeal for victims in Turkey to cover emergency needs such as food protection education water and shelter for three months Rodriguez said the appeal for Turkey is only about 10 per cent fundedAlso read Turkiye Syria quake Syrians shelter in tents and cars as death toll rises above 47000The reality is that if we do not move beyond the roughly 10 per cent that we have the UN and its partners will not be able to meet the humanitarian needs he saidRodriguez added Turkey has been a country that has supported 4 million Syrian refugees over the last few years and this is an opportunity for the international community to provide the support that Turkey deservesThe World Bank has estimated that the earthquake has caused an estimated USD 342 billion in direct physical damages the equivalent of 4 per cent of Turkeys 2021 GDP The World Bank said recovery and reconstruction costs will be much higher and that GDP losses associated to economic disruptions will also add to the cost of the earthquakesTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who faces tough presidential and parliamentary elections in May has promised to rebuild hundreds of thousands of homes for the quake survivors within a yearMore than 174 million refugees lived in the 11 Turkish provinces affected by the earthquakes according to the UN refugee agency Turkeys interior minister said 4267 of the people killed in Turkey were Syrian nationalsRodriguez said that around 40000 Syrians in Turkey have returned home to check on family or economic assets such as land or housing that may have been impacted by the earthquake thereThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever