Team from Qatar International Search, Rescue Group visits earthquake zones.
Doha: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani started Sunday a working visit where His Highness will meet with his brother President of the Republic of Turkiye H E Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
H H the Amir’s visit coincides with the continuation of search, rescue, and relief operations for the victims of the devastating earthquake that occurred Monday, spreading over vast areas in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, causing the death and injury of tens of thousands and displacing millions, as well as causing massive destruction to the affected areas.
Since the first moments of the disaster in Turkiye and Syria, the State of Qatar emerged at the forefront of countries that were in solidarity with the people of Turkiye and Syria through immediate contacts with officials in the Republic of Turkiye, offering condolences and affirming that it stands by the Turkish and Syrian people in this humanitarian disaster. The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani affirmed through H H official “Twitter” account that the State of Qatar stands with the brotherly people of Turkey and Syria and will provide all necessary support to mitigate the effects of the earthquake.
Immediately after the earthquake, H H the Amir held a phone call to his brother H E President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which he expressed his condolences and sympathy to the President and to the fraternal people of Turkiye on the victims of the earthquake in several southern provinces, praying for them to rest in peace. During the phone call, H H the Amir expressed the State of Qatar’s readiness to provide all needed support for the sisterly Republic of Turkiye to mitigate the severe humanitarian repercussions caused by the earthquake, wishing the injured speedy recovery.
In implementation of the directives of the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani,the State of Qatar launched an airlift in support of the sisterly Republic of Turkiye. The first flight of the air airlift was accompanied by a team from the Qatar International Search and Rescue Group of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) equipped with specialized mechanisms for search and rescue operations, in addition to a field hospital, relief aid, tents, and winter supplies. Furthermore, 10,000 mobile homes were provided to alleviate the suffering of the earthquake victims, which will be gradually transferred to the affected areas.
The Qatar International Search and Rescue Group immediately carried out its tasks in establishing and managing the coordination cell for the operations of search and rescue teams for international organizations in the Turkish province of Gaziantep, acting as the main point of contact in the region. The Qatar International Search and Rescue Group undertakes this task based on a mandate from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), due to its accumulated experience in evacuations and rescue operations as a result of disasters and similar crises in many countries and regions of the world.
The Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA) launched an urgent relief campaign “Oun & Sanad” for those affected by the earthquake that took place in southern Turkiye and northern Syria, in partnership with Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent Society, and in cooperation with the Qatar Media Corporation (represented by Qatar TV), with the aim of providing relief to those affected in both countries. This campaign also aims to collect donations from Qatari society to help the brothers in this ordeal before purchasing the necessary needs such as urgent relief including health, shelter, food security, and other non-food items.
In a Tweet on its official Twitter account, the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities accounted that the amount collected through “Oun & Sanad” campaign reached QR 168 million. Meanwhile, support convoys started to arrive in Turkiye and the Syrian interior to provide support and assistance to those who lost their families or children, or those whose families were separated in a tragic disaster by all standards.
Within the context of His Highness’s keenness to provide help for the brothers, H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, donated an amount of QR 50 million to the “Oun & Sanad” campaign for the relief of those affected by the earthquake.
These stances are not strange for the State of Qatar, its wise leadership, and its generous people, who are raised on noble morals, good qualities, and authentic values, loving good deeds and sharing with those in need. These stances are not the first and will not be the last as Qatar’s humanitarian work reached various hot and affected countries all over the globe.
These initiatives reflect the authentic stances of the State of Qatar, both leadership and people, and state that its condolences, sympathy, and support for its brothers and friends is not limited to words and phrases, but rather shown into facts on the ground, out of fraternal and religious ties that link Qatari people to their brothers in Turkiye and Syria.
In the same regard and out of their humanitarian and fraternal duty, Qatar Charity’s field teams are currently distributing urgent relief aid to those affected by the earthquake that hit southern Turkey and the Syrian interior, in conjunction with its launch of an urgent relief campaign “relief the earthquake victims - Turkiye and Syria.” Also, in a statement, Qatar Charity said that in response to the urgent humanitarian needs, thousands of hot meals have been distributed equally between the Syrian interior and Turkey to those affected by the earthquake. 1,600 food baskets of basic food items were distributed, each basket provides a month of food support for each family, in Gaziantep and Urfa. Moreover, more than 15,000 bread bundles are distributed daily in Turkiye.
A four trucks convoy moved from Doha toward the affected areas with medical supplies, first aid, clothes, and foodstuffs with a total value of more than QR 500,000. Preparations are currently underway to run 30 relief convoys that include food and non-food items at a value of QR 5.1 million. Work is also underway to prepare a plan worth QR 21.9 million, which includes an urgent response worth QR 7.3 million and early recovery and reconstruction projects worth QR 14.6 million.
Meanwhile, the Qatar Red Crescent took the initiative to activate the operations room at its headquarters in Doha and to follow up on the developments of the situation inside Syria through its representative mission in Turkey. It also allocated 4,800 food baskets from its stocks at the mission for urgent distribution to the affected families in northern Syria, while studying the release of an emergency relief campaign to provide more aid on a large scale.
The devastating earthquake, which was described as the catastrophe of the age, hit vast areas in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria, with a magnitude of 7.8 degrees, followed, a few hours later, by another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 degrees, and the United Nations described the earthquake as the worst event the region has witnessed during the past 100 years.
The Turkish authorities revealed that the earthquake affected an area inhabited by 13.5 million people in 10 states, noting that the earthquake impact area covered an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers. The Turkish President announced that the Kahramanmaras earthquake is three times stronger and more destructive than the 1999 earthquake engraved in Turkish memory, which killed 17,000 people, pointing out that the earthquake caused destruction over an area of 500 km, and was felt by the population over an area of 1,000 km.
According to specialized institutes, the earthquake occurred at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers, and its epicenter was in the “Pazardik” region in the Turkish “Kahramanmaras” governorate, at a distance of 60 kilometers from the Syrian border, and the damage caused by the earthquake affected five Syrian governorates: Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus. It was felt in Lebanon, Egypt, Turkish Cyprus, northern Iraq, Greenland, and Denmark.
According to the latest statistics, the death toll from the earthquake on the Turkish and Syrian sides exceeded 33,000, while people were miraculously rescued Saturday, amid the continuous search operations, in light of the very cold weather.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced that the death toll from the earthquake had risen to 24,617. He added that more than 32,000 search and rescue personnel are working in the quake-affected areas.
The Turkish authorities counted the collapse of more than 5,700 buildings in many of the affected cities, especially Adana, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Iskenderun, and Adiyaman.
