Updates: Middle East Earthquakes

Catastrophic earthquakes on February 6, claimed at least 50,000 innocent lives, injuring more than 90,000 others. The tremors ruined apartment buildings, homes, roads and hospitals, bringing more instability to a region already enduring crisis. In the following weeks, powerful aftershocks rocked the same region.

As Humanity & Inclusion teams and local partners in the region respond to the disaster, we’ll share key updates here:

Anja, 15, was injured during the earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria in early February. He is being treated by a medical team in one of Humanity & Inclusion’s 13 partner hospitals in northwest Syria.

More than 50 mental health and psychosocial support specialists—from HI and local partners—are offering care to survivors of the February 6 earthquake. Mehdi Firouzi, who supervises the psychosocial teams in Syria, explains the benefits of psychological first aid after a tragedy of this magnitude.

Hundreds of thousands of explosive ordnances contaminate many parts of Syria, particularly the northwest of the country where conflict continues. Gary Toombs, Humanity & Inclusion’s global land release technical operations manager, explains how the February earthquakes “significantly aggravated an already desperate situation.”

Rema, 13, lost her leg after being trapped for 30 hours under the debris of her apartment building. From her room in one of Humanity & Inclusion’s 13 partner hospitals in northwest Syria, Rema shares her story of surviving the February earthquakes.

Anis manages a 22-member team of physical therapists and psychosocial support experts for Humanity & Inclusion in North Syria. He describes the response provided by HI.

Humanity & Inclusion and its partners responding to the earthquakes in northwest Syria are working in four key areas: health, protection, armed violence reduction and logistics services.

After 12 years of conflict, Syria is heavily contaminated with landmines, bomb remnants, and improvised explosives that litter every part of the country, particularly the northwest. Musab, a risk education specialist for Humanity & Inclusion explains the effect this contamination could have on survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquake.

Sami* manages a hospital rehabilitation team in the Idlib region of Syria. He describes serious injuries and a lack of mobility equipment after the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Amir* is the director of an orthopedic and reconstruction hospital—a local partner of Humanity & Inclusion—in northern Syria.

In the first three days following the powerful earthquakes, they received 680 injured patients. All of them will need rehabilitation care.