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Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Earthquake Response Update Syria,Türkiye UNDP - WHO - IFRC
STORYLINE
1.5 million homeless in Türkiye after earthquake disaster: UNDP
As the death toll from the 6 February earthquake disaster topped 41,000 in Türkiye, the UN development experts said on Tuesday that 1.5 million people have been made homeless in the south of the country, where at least 500,000 new homes will need to be built.
“The death toll so far, and this is yesterday’s figures, so we don't have an updated one, but today is 41,156,” said Louisa Vinton, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Türkiye Resident Representative. “So, this makes this clearly the largest earthquake disaster in Türkiye’s history and perhaps the largest natural disaster the country has ever faced.”
Two further earthquakes measuring 6.4 and 5.8 on the Richter Scale killed six more on the Türkiye-Syria border on Monday, with “another 294 people injured and another few buildings collapsed in the region around Hatay and some on the on the Mediterranean coast”, the UNDP official continued.
In northwest Syria, where the international humanitarian response has continued, a total of 227 trucks loaded with supplies have crossed from Türkiye since 9 February; 195 using the Bab al-Hawa crossing, 22 across Bab al-Salam and 10 across Al Ra’ee.
Speaking to journalists via video link from Gaziantep in southern Türkiye, Dr Catherine Smallwood, Earthquake Incident manager for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe noted that the agency had transported “close to 100 tonnes across the border from Türkiye” since the disaster, in addition to the supplies that were already pre-positioned within Syria.
These supplies included essential medicines, consumables, anaesthesia drugs, surgical equipment and other medical supplies for an additional 40,000-49,000 interventions for people who need surgical support or medical support for earthquake specific injuries
The WHO official said that 55 medical facilities have been damaged and several “completely destroyed”, but that six mobile clinics had been redeployed to the towns and communities surrounding Jindires, one of the most affected areas in northwest Syria.
“These are roaming clinics that provide support, support and medical services directly to the populations,” Dr. Smallwood explained.
Potentially positive news also emerged concerning cross-line aid deliveries from Damascus into Idlib, which is largely controlled by opposition armed forces, after well over a decade of war in Syria.
“On Sunday 19 February and Monday 20, three Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoys of humanitarian assistance crossed to Sheikh Maqsood, a non-government controlled area north of Aleppo. And so, we are speaking about cross lines here,” confirmed Tommaso Della Longa, spokesperson for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Highlighting the staggering scale of the reconstruction challenge ahead, UNDP’s Louisa Vinton explained that an estimated 116 to 210 million tonnes of rubble would have to be cleared away first. “To give you a frame of reference, the last major earthquake in Türkiye in 1999, which also had a high number of casualties - although less than half of what we're seeing now - that resulted in 13 million tonnes of rubble,” she said.
In past disasters after earthquakes and explosions in Nepal, Haiti, Lebanon, and also Ukraine, UNDP has partnered projects to ensure that rubble is dealt with in an environmentally safe way. “Much of it can be recycled for construction and it can also be used as a way of generating income short term,” Ms. Vinton explained.
ends
STORY: Earthquake Relief Update Syria, Türkiye: UNDP, WHO, IFRC
TRT: 2’05”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RELEASED: 21 February 2023
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide, UN flag alley, UN Geneva.
- Medium-wide of speakers and journalists in press room, UN backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Louisa Vinton (Zoom from Istanbul) UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative: “The death toll so far, and this is yesterday's figures, so we don't have an updated one, but today is 41,156. So, this makes this clearly the largest earthquake disaster in Türkiye’s history and perhaps the largest natural disaster the country has ever faced.”
- Medium, hands typing on laptop, multimedia paraphernalia.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Louisa Vinton (Zoom from Istanbul) UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative: “There were another six casualties last night, another 294 people injured and another few buildings collapsed in the region around Hatay and some on the on the Mediterranean coast.”
- Medium, journalists working on laptops, podium speaker to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Dr Catherine Smallwood (Zoom from Gaziantep), Earthquake Incident manager for WHO/Europe: “We do know that 55 health facilities have been damaged, several of those completely destroyed. In addition to the supplies that we distributed that were already within Syria, we have moved close to 100 tonnes across the border from Türkiye.”
- Close: laptop screen in foreground, journalists to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Tommaso Della Longa, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): “On Sunday 19 February and Monday 20, three Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoys of humanitarian assistance crossed to Sheikh Maqsood, a non-government controlled area north of Aleppo. And so, we are speaking about cross-lines here.”
- Medium, journalists facing podium.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Louisa Vinton (Zoom from Istanbul) UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative: “And just to give you a sense of the scale, our estimate is that 1.5 million people have been left homeless by this, these earthquakes, with the need to rebuild at least 500,000 new housing units going forward.”
- Medium-wide, journalists listening and working on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) ) Louisa Vinton (Zoom from Istanbul) UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative: “Our estimate right now is that the total volume of the rubble that will need to be dealt with is between 116 and 210 million tonnes.”
- Close, TV camera with viewfinder showing podium speaker.
- Medium, TV camera operator.
- Close, laptops in profile.
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The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
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