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Tag: Red Crescent

  • EU Commissioner in Ankara for cooperation talks

    EU Commissioner in Ankara for cooperation talks

    (ANSAmed) – ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 10 – EU anti-crisis Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva will visit Turkey today to acknowledge the increasingly important role of the country as international humanitarian aid donor and to discuss closer cooperation during catastrophes. The news was announced by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) office in Istanbul.

    The Commissioner will hold meetings in Ankara with Vice Premier Besir Atalay and Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator. The talks will focus on humanitarian disaster and emergency management, like the strategies used in the various crises in the Palestinian Territories, in the Sahel, Somalia and Sudan. The humanitarian crisis in Syria will also be on the agenda.

    Turkey has shown with its humanitarian interventions that rising prosperity can go hand-in-hand with growing responsibility, said the Commissioner. Apart from meetings with humanitarian NGOs of the Red Crescent, the Commissioner will also visit the Van province in the east of Turkey, which was hit by a violent earthquake in October last year.(ANSAmed).

  • Turkey earthquake: Red Cross says survivors need shelter

    Turkey earthquake: Red Cross says survivors need shelter

    Turkey earthquake: Red Cross says survivors need shelter

    56304966 013227452 1Survivors at the Red Crescent camp in Ercis The Red Crescent has set up camps to house homeless survivors

    Thousands of survivors left homeless by the earthquake that hit eastern Turkey are in desperate need of shelter, a UK disaster response expert has warned.

    Some 2,000 buildings collapsed after Sunday’s 7.2-magnitude tremor, which killed at least 460 people.

    More are afraid to go home and stuck outside in freezing temperatures, said Katy Attfield of the British Red Cross.

    The charity is supporting the Turkish Red Crescent, after Turkey’s government said it would accept foreign aid.

    “The area affected is mountainous, it’s freezing, and making sure survivors have protection against the elements is vital for keeping them safe,” said Ms Attfield, who is head of disaster management.

    Almost 500 aftershocks have led to fears more buildings will collapse, leaving many people scared to stay inside.

    Shipments looted

    The Red Crescent is distributing tents, stoves, sleeping bags, food and water and has set up camps in a stadium in Ercis – one of the cities worst affected by the quake which struck the province of Van.

    However, it has reported having 17 trucks looted as some survivors fought over shipments of aid.

    Cornish charity ShelterBox also has a team in Turkey, working with the Red Crescent to deliver emergency tents and survival equipment.

    Turkish ministers had initially insisted the country could cope with impact of the earthquake but ministers have now requested prefabricated housing and containers from other countries, as well as help with reconstruction.

    Meanwhile, health officials are warning people to drink bottled water after detecting an increase in the number of diarrhoea cases.

    via BBC News – Turkey earthquake: Red Cross says survivors need shelter.