EU earthquake relief declaration

Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Turkey, announced that they focused on the need for medical support and emergency shelter in relief efforts in the earthquake zone in Turkey.

Ambassador Meyer-Landrut met with members of the press in Ankara, talked about the work done after the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş and answered questions from journalists. Stating that he is deeply saddened by the earthquake disaster, Meyer-Landrut said: “This is a huge humanitarian disaster. In recent years, I have visited many cities where earthquakes have been experienced and met the people there. Now some of these people are dead, and many of them were affected by the earthquake,” he said.

Underlining that the Turkish people share their pain, Meyer-Landrut stated that they took action immediately after the earthquake and that 1,650 people from 21 member states and Albania, Montenegro and Serbia participated in the search and rescue operations.

Noting that in addition to search and rescue assistance, 12 EU countries provided 50,000 tents, 100,000 blankets and 50,000 backup heaters, Meyer-Landrut said: “The Emergency Response Coordination Center of the EU (ERCC) mobilized 500 tents from our reserves. In addition, 2,000 tents and 8,000 beds from different countries will be delivered to Turkey. We also set up a field hospital in the region. At this stage, unfortunately, as time progresses, rescue operations come to an end. Our focus is on medical support and shelter,” she said.

Meyer-Landrut said that aid from EU member states continues to arrive by the minute and that the EU Commission will organize an international donor conference in Brussels in March. (AA)