Editorial | Quake horror calls for worldwide response
- As the death toll in southern Turkey and northern Syria climbs, now is the time for local and global mercy efforts to get under way
Shocking images and casualty figures have emerged from southern Turkey and Syria since powerful earthquakes struck the region on Monday. The unfolding horror demands a rapid and focused global response to help the tens of millions of people caught up in the disaster.
The first magnitude 7.8 earthquake rattled at least six countries and was followed hours later by a second quake almost as powerful. Nearly 80 aftershocks have also been recorded.
The death toll is climbing and the World Health Organization fears it may eventually surpass 20,000. Tens of thousands more are injured or missing.
Many of those who survived are sleeping outside in freezing temperatures. Thousands of buildings, including homes, schools and hospitals, collapsed in Turkey and northern Syria, which was already suffering a humanitarian crisis after nearly 12 years of civil war.
Earthquakes are not uncommon along the East Anatolian fault zone, but the scale of this disaster is worse because of the intensity of the quakes, their shallow epicentres and they hit where many live.