Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

"No Toilets": After Earthquake, Diseases Threaten Survivors In Turkey

"No Toilets": After Earthquake, Diseases Threaten Survivors In Turkey

Last week's tragedy killed nearly 40,000 people across swathes of southeast Turkey and northwest Syria, becoming the area's deadliest natural disaster in centuries.
Sedef's relief at surviving Turkey's deadly earthquake is quickly giving way to fears she could succumb to diseases that threaten to take hold across shattered regions now devoid of basics including toilets.

Last week's tragedy killed nearly 40,000 people across swathes of southeast Turkey and northwest Syria, becoming the area's deadliest natural disaster in centuries.

Erasing entire towns, it displaced millions of people and left millions more who stayed behind living in rubble, huddling around bonfires in the freezing weather and facing shortages of medicine.

Few buildings have survived unscathed, and amenities such as toilets and showers all but vanished when the first tremor struck before dawn on February 6.

"There are no toilets," said Husne Duz, a 53-year-old woman from Kahramanmaras, a city near the initial quake's epicentre.

"People are urinating near the tents. We need toilets. We need to be able to take a shower. We need washing machines for clothes."

Sedef, an 18-year-old in Antakya -- an ancient city of nearly 500,000 people, entire blocks of which were razed to the ground -- said the lack of sanitation was becoming desperate.

"Maybe we didn't die from the earthquake, but we will certainly die from diseases," she told AFP, declining to give her family name.

'Our biggest issue'

Portable cabin lavatories have begun to spring up across the quake zone, but demand far outstrips supply.

"That is our biggest issue," said Nurhan Turunc, 42, who was picking up medicine for relatives at a temporary pharmacy set up by volunteers in Antakya.

"Early morning, we manage, but (the toilets) are really bad, they are in a disastrous state. There is no water."

One set of 15 portable blue and white WCs on a bridge in central Antakya was completely overwhelmed by use, with excrement overflowing onto the pavement.

Sedef said she had been forced to use the filthy facilities because those in the surviving school where she had sought refuge were worse.

A plea written on one portable lavatory in the city implored visitors to "please use as a human", to encourage proper lavatory etiquette.

Sedat Akozcan, who heads the region's chamber of pharmacists, said that where "hygiene conditions are bad, of course there will be contagious diseases".

'A lot of diseases'

"But from the medicine requests coming up until now, that risk of contagious diseases has not materialised."

Operating out of a car park of a destroyed public health building, a group of young volunteers have been dispensing free treatment and advice to Antakya's survivors.

Their goal is to keep the health and sanitation situation manageable until more government help and international humanitarian relief arrives.

There are more than a dozen similar temporary pharmacy setups across the affected region, with some 30 pharmacists on-site at each one.

The service said it had seen more than 1,000 patients a day in Antakya who had been unable to visit their usual dispensary since last week's earthquake.

"A lot of people here are elderly, who didn't want to leave," said Doctor Onur Karahanci of the Turkish Medical Association.

"They have a lot of diseases... especially hypertension and psychiatric diseases, diabetes -- that is very widespread," he said alongside his organisation's mini field clinic in a riverside park dotted with displaced people.

'Very cold'

Akozcan, the pharmacists' representative, warned that conditions in Antakya, where temperatures drop to 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, were also causing issues for infants.

"The winter is very cold and so there has started to be a lot of upper respiratory infections -- especially with small children," he said.

At the impromptu pharmacy, a child collected a box of pills and was called back by a pharmacist to be given an additional tube of cream and pointers on its use.

Medics have warned about the risks of skin conditions such as scabies spreading because of the poor sanitary conditions.

Hundreds of pharmacists across Turkey have donated boxes of pills, bandages and other medical essentials.

There is also high demand for masks to help combat the pervasive clouds of dust thrown up by the collapse of hundreds of buildings.

They also shield wearers from the smell of decaying bodies as well as asbestos, a flame-resistant material once widely used in construction but now seen as highly dangerous because its fibres can cause cancer when inhaled.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×