Turkish communities, associations and clubs in the Rhine-Main area want to set up a central collection point for donations in kind for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. A THW team with helpers from Hesse has meanwhile arrived there.
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Help from Hesse for earthquake victims
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After the devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, Turkish communities, associations and clubs want to organize help for the people in the disaster area together. A central collection point for donations in kind is expected to be set up in Frankfurt on Thursday, said state parliamentarian Turgut Yüksel (SPD) on Wednesday: “Everyone wants to help, but there is a certain amount of chaos at the moment because it is unclear where donations can be taken.” A donation account should also be set up under the motto “Rhein-Main helps”.
“There are many who have made their way to Turkey by car to help,” said Yüksel. Others tried to get there by plane. Destroyed roads and wintry conditions are likely to complicate this, however.
Many people who had relatives who had become homeless in the earthquake area wanted to take their relatives to Germany, said Yüksel. But that is currently very difficult: the victims of the earth would have to make an appointment online at the German embassy or one of the consulates in order to be able to apply for a visa. However, given the destroyed infrastructure, this is not possible for many.
THW team with Hessian helpers flew to Turkey
On the night of Wednesday, a team from the Technical Relief Organization with 50 helpers from Hesse and four other federal states set out for Turkey. They are supposed to rescue people who have been buried and have, among other things, rescue dogs and 16 tons of technology and equipment with them, as a spokesman for the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) said. The group landed in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep early in the morning. The task of the team is to locate, rescue and provide first aid to buried people, said the spokesman.
According to hr information, the Hessian THW helpers also include people from Central Hesse, for example from Dillenburg and Biedenkopf. They are part of the Rapid Deployment Unit team and specialize in salvage operations abroad.
The helpers are on site in contact with the coordination teams of the United Nations and Turkey’s civil protection. After arriving in their assigned area, the team would split up: one part would start looking for victims, the other would set up the camp for the helpers, the spokesman said. The flight from Cologne/Bonn airport was delayed. Originally, the forces would have wanted to leave on Tuesday.
Other emergency services from Hesse are to follow
In view of the extent of the destruction and the risk of aftershocks, the THW expects a difficult and possibly longer operation in the earthquake region of Turkey, as THW President Gerd Friedsam made clear before the team’s departure.
Based on the experiences from previous foreign assignments in other severe earthquakes worldwide, he assumes that “we will send umpteen helpers there,” said Friedsam at Cologne/Bonn Airport. A total of around 60,000 helpers are now on site.
Live ticker for the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
All current developments can be found in the ticker from tagesschau.de.
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THW: “It will be about survival aid”
“We are in the first phase after the disaster. The focus at the moment is clearly on rescuing and providing first aid to the people affected,” said Friedsam. The THW helpers are trained in this.
The salvage work is a race against time: the critical survival limit for buried people is usually 72 hours. Temperatures around freezing point make things even harder for the survivors, and many of them no longer have a roof over their heads.
After the acute rescue, it will be about survival aid for the people, said Friedsam, about water or other needed supplies such as tents, blankets, sleeping bags. The focus and scope of the aid also depended on the circumstances and possibilities in the respective country. During the almost two-year mission in Haiti, for example, the drinking water supply for the population was a priority. In 2010, a severe earthquake devastated the island state, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
Prepare for possible aftershocks
The emergency services in earthquake regions would also have to take precautionary measures for aftershocks, which could still occur, when rescuing people quickly, said Friedsam. When prefabricated buildings collapse, cavities could arise in which people were waiting to be rescued. The THW team claims to be traveling to the earthquake region in Turkey on behalf of the German government and at the request of the Federal Foreign Office.
Among other things, the team has heavy equipment for rescuing people – for example concrete chain saws, said the THW spokesman. In addition, their own camp and groceries are packed for their own needs for ten days. The original plan to fly to the southern Turkish city of Adana was discarded.
Fraport announces donation of millions
The operator of Frankfurt Airport Fraport announced that it intends to donate 500,000 euros each to the victims of the earthquake together with TAV Airports Holding. One is in talks with the Turkish authorities, where the money is most urgently needed. Fraport AG has been active at the Antalya site for more than two decades. Many of the employees have Turkish employees, said works council chairman Hakan Bölükmese.
The Diocese of Limburg and the Evangelical Church of Hesse-Nassau each announced emergency aid of 50,000 euros.
donations for those affected
Several aid organizations collect donations for the people in Turkey and Syria. You can find an overview at tagesschau.de.
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Death toll rises above 11,000
After the devastating earthquake, many people are suspected to be under the rubble. According to the authorities on Wednesday afternoon, at least 11,162 died People. More than 49,000 people were injured. Around 8,500 people died in Turkey alone, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In addition, according to Turkish information, at least 6,000 buildings collapsed as a result of the severe earthquake on Monday. According to the local Ministry of Health and the rescue organization White Helmets, 2,662 people died in Syria.
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