February- March 2023
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE AND LEGAL SUPPORT TO VULNERABLE MIGRANTS IN TURKEY (PALS) Caritas (FCL) | ASAM Donors: EC - Humanitarian Aid ECHO | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxemburg Earthquakes in February 2023 On February 6th, 2023, two earthquakes (EQ) of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred in Kahramanmaraş. On February 20th, another two earthquakes of magnitude 6.4 and 5.8 occurred with epicenters in the Defne and Samandağ districts in Hatay. The earthquakes caused extensive damage and many casualties in the affected provinces. Hatay is among the affected ones and is where ASAM started its operation. This newsletter focuses on the situation of migrants in Hatay in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER The number of citizens and migrants directly affected by the earthquakes is more than 9.1 million. The latest official statistics indicate that more than 50,000 persons have died, while unofficial data indicate that the actual death toll could be substantially higher. In Hatay province, the Antakya and Defne districts were severely destroyed - more than 70% of the buildings were damaged - Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) needs are enormous and urgent in the region. People were deeply saddened by the several earthquakes and the human and material losses they caused. In addition, they have had to face difficult climatic conditions: a month after the earthquakes, aftershocks continued, and storms and heavy rain severely damaged tents.
The center of the EQ is shown in Red and the affected provinces in Orange.
The removal of debris is a continuous process creating constant presence of dust over the city and dumping is done near the living areas, putting the residents in a very difficult situation. When possible, many families remained next to their damaged buildings and stayed in tents – Informal Tented Settlements (ITS); thousands of ITS have been scattered in every village throughout the province. ASAM mobilized all its resources and responded from day one to the needs in Hatay province including ASAM’s Disaster and Emergency Response Unit with 19 ASAM trained personnel with translators and rescue dogs. ASAM also provided translation support to AFAD and other search and rescue teams when necessary. Caritas and ECHO agreed to reallocate some budget from PALS project to the earthquake response.
PALS – EQR Response Summary in Numbers Number of EQ Survivors having their critical needs identified and met through basic assistance (travel/ accommodation/ E-voucher support): 3,459 reached Number of EQ Survivor who received information on relevant rights, legal aid, and documentation: 244 reached Number of EQ Survivors supported and referred for regularization: 97 reached The number of PALS staff deployed to EQ Zone 17 reached Number of humanitarian aid items distributed in EQ Zone: 8,428 reached
ASAM Search and Rescue Team