Canada stands ready to provide assistance following a disastrous earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday, as authorities in those countries reported more over 4,300 people had died and thousands more had been injured.
Rescue workers and residents searched the rubble of buildings for survivors and officials feared the death toll could continue to rise.
Residents immediately rushed outside in the rain and snow to escape falling debris, while those trapped cried out for help. Throughout the day, major aftershocks hit the area, including one nearly as strong as the initial quake. After dark, workers were still removing bodies as desperate families awaited news of their trapped loved ones.
Mr. Trudeau spoke of “terrible” news and images coming out of Turkey and Syria.
“Canada stands ready to offer assistance,” he said in a written statement. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these major earthquakes, and our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones. »
The United States Geological Authority measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometers. A few hours later, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit more than 100 kilometers away.
The second tremor was considered an aftershock because it occurred on the same fault line as the first, according to a seismologist with the United States Geological Authority.
Ibrahim Cinaroglu, a member of the Turkish-Canadian Society, said four of his friends and family members were among those killed in Turkey.
“We unfortunately could not reach them by phone or by any other means, but we learned that they died,” he said.
Mr. Cinaroglu testified that it was mentally overwhelming.
“How can this happen to you or your loved ones? he wondered. It’s terrible right now. »
Mr. Cinaroglu asked for help from the Canadian government and the people.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement to monitor the situation and be in close contact with its humanitarian partners.
“We are assessing the needs on the ground and we stand ready to provide assistance. »
The ministry added that it had not yet received requests for help from Canadians regarding the earthquakes, but said there were 7,513 people registered as being in Turkey and 1,394 in Syria.
“My thoughts are with the bereaved families following this tragic event,” Quebec Minister of International Relations Martine Biron said on Twitter.
The earthquake, which was centered in Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Turkey, has worsened the humanitarian situation in a region shaped on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria.
Thousands of buildings are said to have collapsed in a wide area stretching from the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Hama to Diyarbakir in Turkey, more than 330 kilometers to the northeast.
The Conservatives will support “the efforts of Canadians and the government to help them,” Conservative Foreign Affairs Critic MP Michael Chong said in a Twitter post.
New Democratic Party Foreign Affairs Critic, MP Heather McPherson, urged the federal government to send immediate humanitarian aid. The crisis in Syria was already underfunded, she claimed on Twitter, and many Syrians were waiting to be resettled.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, wrote on his Twitter account that it is “much more the peoples than their leaders who are crumbling under the weight of disasters”.
“The women and men of Syria and Turkey are grappling with painful grief and dramatic devastation. I send them our best wishes for courage, ”wrote Mr. Blanchet.
The earthquake-affected region of Turkey lies above major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 people were killed in equally powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Turkey in 1999.
Moutaz Adham, Oxfam Canada’s country director for Syria, said the number of people killed and injured by the earthquake in Syria is growing rapidly.
“We see families looking for their missing loved ones who [sont] under the rubble of collapsed buildings. We know that people, even those whose buildings have not collapsed, do not feel safe to return there,” he said in a telephone interview from Damascus.
“The earthquake comes on top of a very serious humanitarian situation in Syria. »
Mr Adham said there was a need for financial support to help respond to the situation, noting that the quake also happened during a harsh winter which could complicate relief efforts.
Majd Khalaf, a Montreal coordinator for the White Helmets — a Syrian civil defense organization — said many of the buildings that collapsed had already been damaged during the ongoing war, making them more vulnerable to the earthquake.
“Our teams are currently intervening. They dig through rubble to save lives, he said. It really is a huge disaster. »
Large areas of northwestern Syria lost electricity and internet connections due to the quake, he added.
He said his organization was appealing to the international community for immediate support with materials to help rescue efforts.
“There are four million refugees [en Syrie] near the Turkish border, which complicates the actions of the White Helmets to evacuate, intervene, he said. They live in camps in terrible conditions, especially in winter. »
The United Nations estimates that some 6.9 million people are internally displaced in Syria due to the war.
— With information from Jordan Omstead, Dylan Robertson and The Associated Press.
