On the sixth of this February, the world woke up to the shocking news of an earthquake that struck Turkey and large areas of Syria, leaving great destruction in the infrastructure and residential homes, and thousands of innocent people from both countries were killed, and this number is expected to increase every minute because there are thousands trapped under the rubble waiting for the arrival of the rescue teams that strive Since the first hours, to meet the distress calls of thousands of stranded people, but the massive destruction in the roads and buildings makes it more difficult than the mind might imagine, as the matter amounts to a humanitarian disaster in every sense of the word.
Every minute there is a person trapped under the rubble who loses his life in a country that is considered one of the world's strongest countries, such as Turkey, which has strong infrastructure and an advanced economy, and organizations qualified and trained in such environmental disasters, let alone a country like Syria that has been under war for twelve years.
As for Syria, which is currently divided into areas of different control. All parties are suffering from poverty, homelessness and cold, as a result of the war, and the winter season, which in itself is considered an annual situation for which humanitarian organizations mobilize due to the lack of fuel or even its absence, and the displacement of thousands and their need for the minimum they need. Humans in order to survive. The intensity of the earthquake was more severe in the regions of northern Syria, due to its proximity to the epicenter of the devastating earthquake, which had an intensity of 7'9 on the Richter scale, so entire buildings were wiped out and leveled to the ground.
Turkey is the only outlet for humanitarian aid to these areas, and Turkey, the northern neighbor of these affected areas, has contributed to its humanitarian support since the beginning of the war there.
And because Turkey is suffering from the consequences of the devastating earthquake in ten cities that were classified as affected cities currently, and the Turkish President declared a state of emergency there for a period of three months. For these reasons, the matter has worsened in the liberated northern regions of Syria.
It also prompted the residents there to rely on their own efforts with their tools and experiences that they gained during the years of war, and to extract those trapped under the rubble of the bombing - and the White Helmets team is the only trained body currently operating in those areas, despite the scale of the disaster that leveled hundreds of buildings to the ground.
Many countries of the world have responded to the appeal of those affected and extended a helping hand to Turkey by sending teams specialized in rescue and recovery of victims since the first hours of the earthquake.
Search operations are still ongoing in an effort to save the lives of those trapped under the rubble in both countries.
