Four Ways USAID is Responding to Earthquakes in Türkiye & Syria

On February 6, life for millions of people across southern Türkiye and northern Syria changed in an instant as they were jolted from their sleep. At 4:17 A.M. that morning, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Gaziantep Province and was followed by thousands of powerful aftershocks, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. This seismic event impacted communities across thousands of square miles, with tremors felt as far away as Egypt.

Residents search for survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Syria’s Idlib province on the border with Türkiye on February 6, 2023. Photo: Omar HAJ Kadour / AFP

Severe shaking from the earthquakes led to tens of thousands of deaths and even more injuries, as well as heavy infrastructure damage that left hundreds of thousands of people homeless at the peak of a cold winter when nighttime temperatures routinely plunge below freezing. Critically, this disaster further compounded the suffering of highly vulnerable populations already experiencing heightened humanitarian needs, such as displaced Syrians.

“We’re still helping pull survivors from rubble. We know there is hope because we see it,” Dylan Laurino, USAID Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). Members of USAID’s USAR team from Fairfax and Los Angeles Country fire departments conduct search-and-rescue operations in Adiyaman, Türkiye. Photo: USAID USAR

Here are four ways USAID is helping populations affected by earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

1. Deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team

Just hours after the earthquakes struck, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Türkiye to lead and coordinate U.S. Government response efforts. The DART is currently working out of a base camp in Adiyaman, one of the hardest hit areas, and is also operating from Adana and Ankara, Türkiye.

Members of USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team work out of the base of operations in Adiyaman, Türkiye. Photo: Andrew Dusek / USAID

More than 200 people comprise the DART. Personnel include two urban search-and-rescue (USAR) crews consisting of 164 members working with 12 specially trained canines and 170,000 pounds of specialized equipment, including saws, drills, torches and hydraulic concrete breaking equipment. Crew members bring vast expertise in rescue operations, emergency medicine, engineering, and hazardous material management.

USAID’s USAR team deployed to Türkiye aboard U.S. military aircraft on Feb. 7, 2023. Along with 159 team members, they also brought 12 canines and more than 170,000 pounds of specialized equipment. “We don’t want to be a burden on the community. So we bring everything we need, including food, water, shelter, power, all the rescue equipment, all the medical equipment,” John Morrison, USAID USAR. Photos: USAID USAR & Department of Defense

Upon arriving in Türkiye, USAR crews were dispatched to hard-hit Adiyaman and immediately got to work helping rescue survivors in close coordination with local Turkish disaster response teams. They have also been working to ensure that houses and apartments that survived earthquakes are structurally sound and people can safely return to them. To date, USAR crew members have conducted rescue activities and assessed structural damage at more than 6,000 buildings in the city.

2. Working with the Department of Defense

After a natural disaster, minutes matter. Because the earthquakes caused extensive damage to roads and other transportation infrastructure in Türkiye, getting emergency response personnel and vital gear to areas they are needed most became difficult. To help, USAID enlisted the unique capabilities of the Department of Defense (DoD) U.S. European Command (EUCOM) to transport DART personnel to disaster sites in southern Türkiye aboard Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters.

Watch 18 metric tons of shelter supplies and hygiene kits get loaded onto an Army Chinook. Once they reach hard-hit Kahramanmaraş Province, USAID will work with Turkish authorities to ensure these supplies get to those who need it. Video: USAID

EUCOM helicopters are also assisting the DART in conducting aerial damage assessments that are helping inform decisions about where to deploy rescue crews and equipment. Additionally, the DART is working with DoD to airlift vital relief commodities such as tents and hygiene supplies to priority areas across southern Turkey.

The U.S. Department of Defense is supporting the USAID earthquake response by transporting both vital aid as well as helping DART members conduct aerial assessments. Photos: USAID

3. Providing $185 Million in Immediate Relief

The United States has provided $185 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to help millions of earthquake-affected people in Türkiye and Syria. This funding supports emergency food and shelter assistance, winter supplies to help families brave the cold, critical health care services, safe drinking water to prevent disease, and hygiene and sanitation assistance to keep people safe and healthy.

Watch USAID Administrator Samantha Power announce new funding for the USAID Türkiye and Syria response. Video: USAID

Graphic: Vanessa Rodriguez/USAID

4. Pivoting Existing Humanitarian Support for Syria to Earthquakes Response

From day one of this response, DART members have been working with long-standing USAID partners in northern Syria to make sure that they are able to pivot existing USAID programs to meet new emergency needs caused by the earthquakes. The U.S. remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria and has provided nearly $16 billion in humanitarian aid to crisis-affected Syrians since 2012.

USAID’s longstanding support has allowed the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to pivot their response and feed thousands of people from day one of the earthquake. Photos: WFP

Leveraging this support, our partners have been able to provide health care, as well as food, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance to populations in earthquake-affected areas. They are working against incredible odds and have suffered great personal hardship, with many organizations having lost staff members and loved ones in the disaster.

USAID partners, such as the White Helmets, have been heavily involved in search-and-rescue efforts and have pulled countless survivors from the rubble. Syrian medics supported by USAID have also treated earthquake survivors in Idlib, Aleppo, and other affected areas.

The USAID DART in Adiyaman, Türkiye, hosted members of the White Helmets to discuss and coordinate response efforts in Syria. Photo: Andrew Dusek / USAID

How You Can Help

We’ve shared four ways that we are helping with the earthquake response in Türkiye and Syria, but there are also ways you can help the people affected. The best way to help survivors and support disaster relief efforts is by providing monetary donations to professional aid groups working on the ground. The Center for International Disaster Information offers information on how you can donate to some of the organizations working on the front lines.

Get more information on USAID’s response to the crisis in Türkiye and Syria.

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