Quake survivors in Turkey and Syria still struggling, one year on

One year after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the situation for the survivors in the affected areas is still very difficult, according to aid organizations.

According to German charity Caritas, many people are still living in emergency accommodation.

Reconstruction is making slow progress in the entire earthquake region due to the extent of the destruction, it said in a statement on Friday.

Germany's Welthungerhilfe organization said that the people in Syria in particular are still in need of aid.

“In north-western Syria, around 80% of the people living in the region were already dependent on humanitarian aid before the earthquake due to the years-long civil war," it said.

"With the earthquake and the subsequent flooding caused by heavy rain, they experienced a catastrophe within a catastrophe," explained Mathias Mogge, Welthungerhilfe's secretary general.

The children's rights organization Save the Children pointed to the suffering of the youngest children.

In both countries, children struggle with "anxiety and psychological problems," surveys by Save the Children show.

The aid organization CARE called for more financial support for the affected areas.

“The international donor community must take seriously the ongoing effects of the earthquake and long-term risks for Turkey and Syria,” said Rishana Haniffa, the CARE director for Turkey.

Without sufficient funding, the humanitarian need will continue to escalate, the aid organization said.

On February 6, 2023, two earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 7.6 struck south-eastern Turkey and parts of Syria. Around 60,000 people died, most of them in Turkey.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 6,800 people died in the quakes across Syria.