About 2 million people made homeless by the earthquake are being kept in tents, container houses
Antakya, Turkey:
Nearly three weeks after a massive earthquake struck southern Turkey, Omran Alsved and his family are still living in makeshift shelters, unable to find a place in an official camp.
Nearly two million people made homeless by the quake are being housed in tents, container homes and other facilities, according to Turkish officials, but Alsved, 25, said her extended family has yet to benefit.
“Our houses were heavily damaged, so we took shelter here in a garden in our neighborhood,” said Alsved, who studies nursing at Siert University in southeast Turkey.
He said, “The biggest problem is the tents. It’s been 19 days and we haven’t got a single tent yet. We even applied to go to the tent camp, but they said the nearby camps are full.” ” What’s the end?
Alsved was among 60 Syrians, including at least a dozen young children, living in 11 shelters made of plastic sheeting, blankets, bricks and pieces of concrete from damaged buildings along a road to Rayhanli town.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said overnight that the death toll in Turkey had risen to 44,218, bringing the total death toll including Syria to 50,000.
AFAD said that more than 335,000 tents have been set up in the earthquake zone in Turkey and container home settlements are being set up at 130 locations. About 530,000 people have also been evacuated from the earthquake zone.
Alsved said he had been calling official phone numbers and talking to AFAD and other aid groups about their situation, including asking for tents, while small NGOs were providing children with canned food, toilet paper and Brought some toys.
On the road to the city of Kirikhan, outside Antakya, a woman named Ayse was living in a greenhouse near her damaged home when officials told her there were no tents available.
“We didn’t get a tent, but there are others in worse condition than us and I want them to get them first. At least we have a greenhouse. I took my kids and brought them here,” she said . The husband had pulled a sofa out of the house for the children to sleep.
“We’ve got supplies, but they said there are no tents at the moment. We’re waiting.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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