Kahranmanmaras, Turkey – Emine lies in a hospital bed, tears streaming down her face as she listens to the sound of her baby’s heartbeat. The 20-something woman is in her 40th week of pregnancy and is surrounded by medics performing an ultrasound. Her brother and his family, who were in the same week of pregnancy, were not so lucky; they perished in the earthquake that recently struck southeastern Turkey.
The death toll has reached 46,000 and is expected to rise as search and rescue teams continue to search for survivors. Dr Erdogan Nohuz, a Turkish-French obstetrician who flew to the city from Lyon to help with the medical response, has been sleeping in an office at the women’s clinic of Necip Fazil public hospital – the most fully functioning hospital in the city of nearly 400,000. He has observed delays in consultations of seven or eight days and performed cesareans for patients who had needed them for two or three days.
Half of the workers in the department have arrived from other Turkish provinces to help with the relief effort. Despite some cracks in the walls and nylon netting protecting staircases and the main hall, there are few signs of damage at the hospital. Dr Tugba Gayretli, an obstetrician from Ankara, said they came to help with healthcare provision and bring people back to a more normal life.
A similar situation was unfolding at a smaller hospital in the town of Golbasi, in the province of Adiyaman. A doctor confirmed it was “only open for emergencies” and a triage tent had been set up outside. Kamal Malik, a physician and project coordinator at Doctors Worldwide Turkey, an NGO, said their tent had been very busy since the morning with people coming from surrounding villages for medicine and healthcare.
Vice President Fuat Oktay reported more than a million people have been placed in temporary accommodation centres. Thousands of people were living in tents pitched outside their unsafe homes, taking advantage of the occasional shower and, sometimes, electricity connection. Some were still looking to obtain tents and continued to sleep in their cars in the meantime.
At a camp set up in a stadium – usually home to the Kahramanmarasspor football club – not far from one of the hardest-hit areas in the city centre, Ilknur Arvas, a volunteer nurse from Istanbul, said she has treated dozens of people for diarrhoea across three days at the camp, both adults and children. Nursena Ogru, a 24-year-old psychologist with Doctors Worldwide from Batman, commented that adults feel immense pain as they lost everything while most children under 10 can’t understand what’s going on.
The World Health Organization has warned of “growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases – with vulnerable people especially at risk”. Access to clean water and sanitation are essential to prevent water-borne diseases such as cholera.
The devastating earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey have left more than 13 million people across 10 provinces affected. At least 219,000 people have left the region according to AFAD, the government’s official rescue agency. As search and rescue teams continue to hunt for survivors amid the rubble, many are still struggling with emotional and psychological challenges as they try to rebuild their lives.