The European Union is to send more tents, blankets and heaters for people affected by the twin earthquakes that devastated southeastern Türkiye, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a phone call on Sunday.
The commission is also mobilizing the private sector to provide the necessary support as quickly as possible, a spokesperson said following the call.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has enabled the bloc to send 38 rescue teams with 1,651 helpers and 106 rescue dogs.
Von der Leyen also tweeted that she had spoken with Erdoğan to "convey my deepest condolences to the people of Türkiye for the catastrophic loss of life and destruction caused by the devastating earthquake, and discuss additional support," she said and added: "Europe is by your side."
The EU swiftly dispatched rescue teams to Türkiye after the massive magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck the country on Monday close to the border with Syria.
Twelve EU members have already provided 50,000 winter-proof family tents, 100,000 blankets and 50,000 heaters.
The commission has also mobilized 500 emergency shelters, 8,000 beds and 2,000 tents and last Wednesday, it pledged to hold a donor conference in March to collect international aid for both Türkiye and Syria as Von der Leyen assured the disaster-stricken countries could “count on the EU."
But the commission initially offered only minimal assistance to Syria through existing humanitarian programs because of EU sanctions imposed since 2011 on the Assad regime in response to his brutal crackdown on protesters, which spiraled into a civil war. After Damascus made an official plea to the EU for help, the bloc’s commissioner for crisis management said the European countries were asked to “respond favorably” to the request.
At least, 29,000 were killed and more than 80,000 others were injured in 10 provinces of Türkiye by Monday’s tremors, with over 3,500 deaths in Syria, making it the sixth most deadly natural disaster in this century, behind the 2005 earthquake that killed at least 73,000 in Pakistan.
