Turkey and Syria Earthquake

Statement

The following Statement was made in the House of Commons on Tuesday 7 February.

“With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a Statement to the House on the situation in Turkey and Syria.

On Monday morning at 1.17 am UK time, a major earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria. Measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, the quake’s impact was felt hundreds of miles away in Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece and Israel. Just nine hours later at 10.24 am London time, a second major earthquake struck the same region, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale. The first tremor centred on the Turkish city of Gaziantep, some 150 miles north of the Turkish-Syrian border. The epicentre of the second quake was approximately 80 miles further north.

Earthquakes of this severity have not been seen in that region for 80 years. The effects of the two earthquakes have been devastating. At least 2,291 deaths have already been confirmed by the Turkish authorities, and at least 15,834 people have been reported injured. Those numbers are, I regret to inform the House, highly likely to rise significantly. I know that the House will join me in offering our sincere condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria.

Across the region, which is inhabited by more than 12 million people, more than 6,000 buildings have collapsed. Electricity and gas infrastructure has been severely damaged. Many of the 3.5 million Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey reside in the affected provinces. Turkey’s outstanding disaster relief response capability has been severely tested by the sheer scale of the catastrophe. The Turkish Government have declared a state of emergency, and they are requesting international assistance on a scale that matches the enormity of the situation that they are facing. Turkey will lead the disaster relief response in the areas of Syria where it has a presence.

As of this morning, we know that three British nationals are missing. The Foreign Office’s crisis response hub is working to support the at least 35 British nationals who have been directly affected by the earthquakes. We assess that the likelihood of large-scale British casualties remains low. The Turkish Government have contacted His Majesty’s Government to request support, and we are working closely with our Turkish allies to provide them with the help that they need as swiftly and as effectively as possible.

I have been in direct contact with my Turkish counterpart, and I plan to speak to the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordination this afternoon to discuss future steps. Our 77-strong urban search and rescue team, with four dogs and state-of-the-art equipment, is due to arrive at Gaziantep later today. I have also authorised the deployment of a UK emergency medical assessment team.

In Syria, the UK is in contact with our partners on the ground to establish their need and decide how best to help them. The conflict stability and security fund will provide an uplift to the opposition Syrian civil defence, commonly known as the White Helmets, to support their emergency response operations across north-west Syria. We are also providing support to Syria through the International Medical Corps, Save the Children and, of course, the United Nations agencies.

We will continue to stand by the people of Turkey and Syria. We will deliver aid to those in need, wherever they are, and as we do so, we will work with our allies and partners around the world to ensure the most effective humanitarian response. I undertake to keep the House updated on the situation in Turkey and Syria as it evolves. I commend this Statement to the House.”

My Lords, the devastation in Turkey and Syria is clearly heartbreaking, with thousands losing loved ones in the most shocking of ways. Our thoughts and sympathy must go out to all those so deeply affected, in particular the diaspora community here in the United Kingdom. As the Minister reminded us on Monday, the death toll of this terrible disaster was rising at a huge rate—by the hour, he said. At that point, the reported casualty figure was 2,000; this morning, the Disasters Emergency Committee reported that at least 9,000 people have been killed across the two countries, anticipating that the figures will continue to rise. President Erdoğan announced later that the death toll in Turkey had reached 8,754. Combined with the 2,470 known deaths in Syria, that brings the total official death toll to 11,224.

Of course, it is anticipated that, sadly, these figures will continue to rise. Many people are trapped under rubble and search and rescue operations are still continuing. More than 5,770 buildings have collapsed in Turkey and 4,000 have collapsed in north-western Syria—that was the estimate from last night. Information from rural areas, however, may not have been received due to the damage to communications and road infrastructure. The WHO has suggested that the final toll could rise as high as 20,000. A similar-sized earthquake in the region in 1999 killed at least 17,000.

This afternoon, the Disasters Emergency Committee announced it was launching the DEC Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal tomorrow through TV and broadcast appeals. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell us this afternoon how the Government will ensure support for that appeal, both in funding and in promotion.

The Turkish Interior Minister has issued an international assistance call and stated that Turkey has mobilised state emergency teams. On Monday, the Minister gave us a detailed report on how our international search and rescue teams had been deployed and commenced life-saving activity within the crucial 72 hours. Can he tell us whether we plan to send any further search and rescue resources, beyond what is in the Statement, in particular heavy-lifting equipment, helicopters, et cetera? Clearly, the demand is huge. Anyone listening to the BBC this morning would have heard the terrible reports about the need for shelter, energy, water and sanitation. There are reports that cholera is already spreading in Syria. The terrible conditions and the question of how bodies are stored and buried also need to be addressed.

My Lords, I associate myself with the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Collins, regarding our sympathies being with those directly affected. This is also an extremely concerning time for the diaspora community. Is the FCDO offering any guidance and support to the diaspora community on how to access information about those it may be concerned about? I will not be alone in this House in having friends in the area who have already struggled with communications. We have all seen the images of the pure hell of the area, with whole villages and communities razed to the ground. Part of the communications and infrastructure network has also been affected.

As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, indicated, the human cost is rapidly growing and is now more than 11,200 in southern Turkey and northern Syria, with more than 23 million lives affected. Without question, the UK population will respond to the DEC appeal; the public in this country respond when there are awful disasters such as this. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will trigger the UK aid match? They did so with regard to the Pakistan floods and, of course, the Ukrainian appeal. I would be grateful if the Minister could make a rapid announcement on a UK aid match from the Government, matching the generosity of the British public.

The European Union has provided a commitment for €3.5 million through the EU civil protection mechanism in response to a formal appeal from Syria. What is the UK government mechanism for support? As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, indicated, the people of northern Syria have been afflicted by conflict, and it is an area where control is divided between the Government and rebel groups. There is already concern that the Assad regime may use this politically, but the people will need humanitarian assistance. So what are the mechanisms by which the UK will work with our international partners on delivering assistance? I understand that it has been the Government’s approach not to provide equipment that could be used internally in Syria. There are grounds for exceptions to be made for this. Are the Government actively considering that in an urgent way?

My Lords, as I am sure all noble Lords do, I fully associate myself with the words of the noble Lord, Lord Collins. The situation in Turkey and Syria continues to worsen, exacerbated by both hard-to-access areas and the weather conditions; snow and rain are hindering progress.

I turn to some of the specific points. I thank the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Collins, for their strong support. This underlines the importance of being at one when these crises hit. Of course, I will continue to update your Lordships’ House on a regular basis, as I said I would 48 hours ago, as things evolve and emerge. Tragically, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, pointed out, the figures continue to increase. From both official statistics and the reality on the ground, as conveyed to us through reports and, importantly, some of the calls I have had—which I will come on to in a moment—it is very clear that this number will continue to increase.

There is always the odd bit of hope. I am sure that many noble Lords saw on the front pages of our newspapers that young girl in Afrin—a source of hope. The tragedy was that she was born under the rubble and the rest of her family have died. Who knows how many such cases we will come across?

On the calls I have been making, I spoke yesterday to the head of the White Helmets, Raed al-Saleh. I join the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, in commending their incredible work, which we are again seeing unfold on our screens. As I announced then, we immediately stood up another £800,000. I conveyed that to Raed al-Saleh and his team and asked him to identify specific needs and requirements in Syria.

I accept what the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said about accessibility. As I said a couple of days ago, that remains a priority. There is one sanctioned humanitarian corridor, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, alluded to. I have been in contact with our senior ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, Dame Barbara Woodward, to see what further pressure can be exerted on the likes of Russia to open up corridors. This is about saving people’s lives. It is important that Russia now recognises, notwithstanding the immense differences that we have because of its illegal war in Ukraine, that lives will be saved through accessibility into Ukraine. I assure noble Lords of our best efforts in working with both our key partners at the UN and partners such as the United States and the European Union to apply further pressure in that respect.

My Lords, like all noble Lords, I am absolutely heartbroken, particularly because I have so many good friends in Britain who have already travelled to Istanbul. Some are trying to access Syria. I am deeply touched by the powerful contributions of my noble friend Lord Collins and the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, and I thank the Minister for keeping us up to date.

I have two questions. A huge amount of effort is already under way within the various communities. How can the Minister and the Government ensure that those British efforts are directed in one direction, so that they can be maximised? The sending of tonnes of food and clothes is being arranged. Can we ensure that there is some collaboration with the Turkish embassy, Turkish Airlines, et cetera?

My other point is to ask the Minister whether he has sought meetings with other Muslim countries in the region, particularly Qatar, given that it has just created some massive, good-quality tents. Can some of those be donated to Turkey, especially in light of the fact that Qatar already has really good experience of creating high-class clinics, as it did in Pakistan some years ago? My prayers and condolences are with the people of Turkey. I hope that we will all, individually and collectively, do everything within our ability and capacity to ensure that Turkey is helped.

My Lords, on the second point, as the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, I will very shortly travel to the Gulf and this will be one of the key areas of my discussions. Equally, I know that those near neighbours are responding.

The noble Baroness talked about co-ordination. We are speaking directly with the Turkish authorities, as well as with the ambassador here, to see how we can best co-ordinate efforts. I have already indicated certain NGOs that can be worked with. Undoubtedly, the Turkish authorities are overwhelmed. Specific lines have now been set up for British relatives who are in Turkey; those are directly with the Foreign Office and consular offices are available 24/7. On people looking for family support, as was pointed out in our previous discussion by the noble Baroness, Lady Hussein-Ece, that is a matter for the Turkish authorities directly but we are looking at how we can disseminate that information.

Finally, I add a note of caution. As we have seen, the Turkish Government have stated clearly that only vehicles which carry aid teams and aid materials will be allowed to enter certain cities deemed to be inside the disaster areas. That should be borne in mind.

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the DEC should be congratulated for getting off the mark much faster than usual? This is going to be very reassuring to all those who have donated. I recall from my time with some of the DEC members that there was a healthy tension—not to say competition—between them early on in these events. Can the Minister give the House an idea of how briefings are provided without showing any restraint or regulation? How does one keep in contact, especially when there is duplication of food and materials?

My Lords, I applaud the efforts of the DEC. It has stood up aid during the recent challenges and disasters which have engulfed the world, including last summer in Pakistan. This also underlines the strong generosity of the British people in supporting these contacts. On co-ordination—if I understood the noble Earl correctly—the DEC provides a strong framework. It is being briefed regularly and has meetings with FCDO officials.