Belgium's Foreign Affairs Department still has no information on Tuesday about whether any Belgian nationals were injured or deceased after deadly earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria. The death toll has already hit 5,000 and continues to rise as rescuers sift through the rubble.
About 200 Belgians are registered with the FPS Foreign Affairs in the affected region. Most of them have been contacted and have confirmed that they are unharmed. All Belgians in the region who have not yet been registered are asked to report themselves to the authorities.
In Turkey, Belgium's Foreign Affairs has posts in Ankara and Istanbul. For Syria, they have a post in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
In the meantime, the City of Brussels has started a collection campaign for relief goods and has opened Palais 11 at the Heysel stadium to collect supplies for the affected areas, announced Brussels City mayor Philippe Close on Twitter.
Blankets, nappies, baby food, winter boots, flashlights, hygiene products, sleeping bags, warm sweaters and socks or tents are some of the basic items that are urgently needed. Only the goods that are really needed will be accepted.
"Food is not necessary. It is mainly about things to help people who no longer have a roof over their heads. It is also winter there, so the temperatures are low," said Sevket Temiz, coordinator of the collection campaign. Palais 11 will be open for the fundraising campaign from today (Tuesday 7 February) until Sunday 19 February, every day from 10:00 to 18:00.
With the call for solidarity, the City of Brussels hopes to reach all Belgians who want to offer help to the victims of the earthquakes. Donated goods will be driven to the Turkish and Syrian borders by truck. Aid organisers are also calling for volunteers who want to help.
In the meantime, the Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, where many residents have roots and/or relatives in the affected countries, has opened a mourning register where locals can pay tribute to the thousands of victims and express their solidarity through the funeral register in the Town Hall.
"In these tragic moments, our thoughts go out to the victims and their families. I express my condolences to Turkey and Syria," Saint-Josse mayor Emir Kir said in a press release. "Unfortunately, the death toll and the number of injured are already very high. All our thoughts go to the rescue teams who fight a heroic battle."
23 million people at risk
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday stated that some 23 million people may be at risk from the earthquakes and aftershocks that have rocked Turkey and Syria.
"Maps of the events show that 23 million people may be at risk, about five million of whom are vulnerable,” WHO official Adelheid Marschang said at a meeting of the Executive Board. "The movement of relief supplies across the border into northwestern Syria has already been disrupted by the damage caused by the earthquake. That in itself is a huge crisis."
After observing a minute's silence for the victims, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pledged to work closely "with all partners to support the authorities of Turkey and Syria, in the critical hours and days to come, as well as the months and years to come as both countries recover and rebuild."
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The WHO is sending three charter flights to the two countries, carrying medical supplies such as surgical kits, from the humanitarian logistics platform in Dubai.
Ghebreyesus added that the WHO network of emergency medical teams is being mobilised: "It is now a race against the clock. Every minute, every hour, that passes, the chances of finding survivors decrease."
Aftershocks, severe winter conditions, and damage to roads, power supplies, communications infrastructure and other infrastructure continue to limit access and other search and rescue operations, he underlined.
