To assist local authorities in search and rescue operations, the Australian Government is working to send a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Turkey.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has activated the AUSASSISTPLAN to send an Urban Search and Rescue team of up to 72 people to Turkey to support local authorities.
Our National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA, is coordinating the deployment as soon as possible with Fire and Rescue NSW, DFAT, and the ADF to have boots on the ground by the end of the week.
These urban search and rescue experts have received extensive training in locating, providing medical care to, and rescuing victims who have become trapped or affected by a structural collapse.
We sincerely appreciate the personnel and their families willingness to contribute to this crucial global effort on such short notice.
The Australian Government will monitor the situation as it develops and determine where it can most effectively help.
We send our condolences from Australia to the families, neighbourhoods, and people whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted and those who have lost loved ones.
The Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre can be reached at 1300 555 135 in Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 outside of Australia by Australians in need of urgent consular assistance.
This week, two devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria within 12 hours resulted in immeasurable destruction and fatalities. Thousands of people have died, and countless more have injuries. According to reports, more than 11,000 buildings have collapsed, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
The first earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, had its epicentre in the province of Gaziantep, home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. It was also about 50 kilometres from the Syrian border.
The need is particularly complicated because the area is experiencing extreme winter weather, and the roads are now covered in ice and snow. Additionally harmed, hospitals are overburdened with patients.
Humanitarian intervention is urgently needed. It will be crucial for aid and development organizations to offer affected people immediate support, such as housing, transportation, healthcare, and food. Members of ACFID are already organizing and mobilizing their answers.
