A powerful earthquake struck Turkey and Syria last Monday, causing widespread destruction and leaving tens of thousands dead or injured.
The death toll continues to rise as rescuers pull more survivors from the rubble, but with each passing day, the chances of finding more survivors grow increasingly remote.
This has been the deadliest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939, and the situation is only compounded by the ongoing civil war in Syria, which has already left many residents homeless.
In Antakya, one of the hardest hit cities in southern Turkey, business owners have had to empty their shops to prevent looters from stealing merchandise.
There have been widespread reports of businesses and collapsed homes being robbed, which is only adding to the misery of those affected by the disaster. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to deal firmly with looters and to restore order to the disaster zone.
The earthquake has hit Syria particularly hard in the rebel-held northwest, where many people who have already been displaced several times by the civil war are now homeless once again.
The region has received very little aid compared to government-held areas, which has left many residents feeling abandoned. The United Nations aid chief, Martin Griffiths, has tweeted from the Turkey-Syria border, saying that the people in northwest Syria have “so far failed” and that he is focused on addressing the situation as quickly as possible.
The Chinese and Turkish rescuers have been praised for their heroic efforts, having saved a 54-year-old Syrian man who survived 156 hours in the rubble of Antakya. Despite the danger, rescue teams continue to search the rubble for any remaining signs of life.
Although the number of survivors pulled from the ruins has been declining, rescuers still managed to save several people on Sunday, including a father and daughter, a toddler, and a 10-year-old girl.
As the aftermath of the earthquake continues to unfold, building quality in Turkey has come into sharp focus. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has announced that 131 suspects have been identified as responsible for the collapse of some of the thousands of buildings that were destroyed in the affected provinces.
The government has promised to hold those responsible accountable and to bring the necessary legal action against them.
The earthquake has struck at a critical moment for Turkey, as President Erdogan faces presidential and parliamentary elections in June.
His popularity has already been declining due to rising inflation and a struggling economy, and the slow and inadequate relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake have only added to the criticism he faces.
In Syria, the situation is further complicated by the ongoing civil war, which has made it difficult to provide aid to those in need. Earthquake aid from government-held areas into the territory controlled by hardline opposition groups has been held up by approval issues with Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls much of the region.
The United Nations is hoping to increase cross-border operations by opening two additional border points between Turkey and opposition-held Syria to allow for the delivery of aid.
As the crisis continues to unfold, the international community is rallying to provide aid and support to those affected by the earthquake. The United States has called on the Syrian government and all other parties in the country to immediately grant humanitarian access to all those in need, while several Arab countries have provided support to the Syrian government.
The first shipment of European earthquake aid has also arrived in Damascus, and the United Nations is working to ramp up its efforts to bring aid and support to those in need.
