The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria exceeded 33,000 this Sundaywhile the United Nations lamented the delays in bringing humanitarian aid to devastated Syrian areas and warned that the final balance could double.
The latest balances speak of 33,179 deaths (29,605 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria), for the most violent earthquake in the region for 80 years.
This Sunday a new UN convoy arrived in northwestern Syria from Turkey, but the UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffithsstated that more support is needed for the millions of people who lost their homes in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that occurred almost a week ago.
“Until now we have failed the people of northwestern Syria. They have the right to feel abandoned, waiting for international help that has not arrived,” Griffiths said.
“My duty and my obligation is to correct this failure as quickly as we can,” he said.
The situation worsens in Syriawhose health system and global infrastructure are weighed down by more than a decade of civil war.
This Sunday’s convoy, made up of a dozen trucks transporting rescue tools, as well as blankets and mattresses, crossed through the border crossing of Bab al-Hawa from Turkey, according to a correspondent for the AFP.
On Saturday Griffiths had warned from kahramanmarasnear the epicenter of the earthquake in Turkey, that the death toll could still increase considerably.
“It’s really hard to estimate very accurately, because you have to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it’s going to double or more,” Griffiths said. “It’s terrifying,” he added.
In the midst of a devastating scenario and a freezing coldtens of thousands of local and foreign rescuers work among the ruins in search of signs of life.
But fears for the safety of rescue teams have forced the suspension of some operations and dozens of people have been arrested in Turkey on charges of looting after the quake, according to the state agency.
A israeli volunteer team announced on Sunday that he was retiring after the “significant” threats to your security in Turkey.
26 million affected
Amid harsh winter conditions, they continue to register miraculous cases of people found under the rubble, but experts warn that hopes of finding survivors are dwindling with each passing day.
In southern Turkey, a seven-month-old baby named Hamza was rescued alive more than 140 hours later of the earthquake in hatai and a teenager identified as esma sultan13 years old, was saved in Gaziantepaccording to state media.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 26 million people were affected by the earthquake and launched an urgent appeal to raise $42.8 million to finance urgent health needs.
According to the Turkish Agency for Emergencies and Natural Disasters, near 32,000 people are mobilized in the rescue operationsas well as more than 8,000 foreign rescuers.
But in many areas, teams they lack sensorswhich means that their job is reduced to carefully excavating collapsed buildings with shovels or even with their bare hands.
Alaa Moubarakdirector of Civil Defense for Jableh, in northwestern Syria, said they have not received new equipment in 12 years.
“If we had this kind of equipment, we would have saved hundreds of lives, maybe more.”
outrage grows
The government in Syria announced that it had approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to rebel areas out of their control in the province of Idlib and that the convoy was to leave on Sunday, although it was later postponed.
The UN Secretary General, Anthony Guterresurged the Security Council to authorize the opening of more border posts to send aid to rebel areas of Syria from Turkey.
The passing of days also leads to search for responsibilitiesspecially in Turkeywhere the population attacks the slow government response and the poor quality of the buildings after the worst disaster in almost a century.
The authorities indicate that more than 12,000 properties were destroyed or severely affected by the shock and the police arrested 12 people, including some property developers, for the collapse of buildings.
(With information from AFP)
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Source-www.infobae.com