"We will be there every step of the way" - Concern's work in Turkey after the earthquakes

The destruction in the metropolitan area of Adiyaman, which is home to 600,000 people, is almost unbelievable. In the city centre, almost no building has escaped damage and scores of multi-storey apartment blocks have simply collapsed into huge piles of concrete and twisted metal. As they fell, they trapped thousands of people.

Those who rushed to carry out search and rescue operations worked around the clock to save lives. Surviving friends and family waited anxiously for news of loved ones, but at the time of writing (February 15) more than 40,000 people have died. Within days the mission had become one of recovery. Many will never be found.

For those who remain, conditions are tough. Thousands of families instantly became homeless or are too afraid to return to damaged and unstable buildings. They huddle around fires, crowd into sports halls and community centres, and camp out in makeshift tents. Infrastructure in the city has been badly damaged, leaving no electricity or running water, and freezing temperatures compound the misery.

Those who had the opportunity have left, travelling to rural towns and villages to stay with friends or relatives.

Mehmet Taşar, whose family have been left homeless and are living in a tent, says:

Many others have nowhere else to go. A substantial proportion of the population are refugees from neighbouring Syria. The tragedy has impacted everyone and the humanitarian situation facing tens of thousands of people is unthinkable.

Concern Worldwide has a substantial presence in the region, with a base in neighbouring Sanliurfa supporting refugees, and the local team began to respond to the crisis almost immediately.

“Many of us were quite shaken by what happened, but thankfully nobody on the team was seriously hurt,” says Begum Akdogan, Programme Coordinator. “We wanted to start helping in whatever way we could.”

Within hours, the team came together and began assembling supplies — blankets, heaters, water, and other essentials — and delivering them to centres in the locality where people had gathered to take shelter. By Tuesday, they had set up a kitchen operation at the Concern office, cooking hundreds of hot meals and distributing them to affected families.

Concern has been working with local authorities and other partners to assess the needs and design an effective and comprehensive plan for supporting Adiyaman in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Negotiations are under way to secure major institutional funding and already a substantial amount of money has been donated by the public to emergency appeals launched by offices in Ireland, the UK, South Korea, and the US.

“Shelter for those left homeless by the earthquake will be a major priority, along with water and sanitation services, food, and essential household items,” according to Concern Programme Director, Ali Fuat Sutlu.

“There’s a strong civil society here and we are combining our expertise and resources to ensure that these very vulnerable people will get the support they need, both immediately and into the future. This earthquake stretched across an arc of 400kms, causing massive damage and displacing hundreds of thousands of families, and the humanitarian situation will be challenging for many months. We will be there every step of the way.”