The UN has warned about possible disruptions to food supplies, following the February 6 earthquakes that devastated one of Turkiye's key agricultural regions. While the twin tremors damaged many cities in Turkiye's south, it also wreaked havoc on rural areas. In response, the Turkish government has pledged financial assistance to farmers, including cash payments and subsidies to secure food supply chains.

Guests:

Sharon George

Senior Lecturer at Keele University

Aylin Oney Tan

Food Writer and Culinary Researcher

The February 6 earthquakes have brought unimaginable destruction across 10 provinces in Turkiye's south. Turkiye's disaster management agency says more than 350,000 apartments have been destroyed, leaving countless people homeless. Over two million people have left the quake-affected areas, with many relocating to other parts of the country. The areas where the quakes struck, are some of Turkiye's most ethnically and culturally diverse regions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to protect the historical identity and demographic structure of the country's southeast. Often referred to as the crossroads of civilizations, the city of Gaziantep and its surroundings have been a melting pot of cultures and are home to historical sites dating back thousands of years. President Erdogan added that the construction of 270,000 homes would begin in March, with a goal to complete them within one year. The February 6 earthquakes killed more than 48,000 people in Turkiye and Syria. Several powerful quakes have followed, including a 5.0 tremor that hit Hatay on Thursday.

Guests:

Selin Unal

Spokesperson at UNHCR Türkiye

David Coleman

Emeritus Professor of Demography at Oxford University

The February 6th earthquakes left a devastating toll on countless families. But while we can count the number of lives lost, those who were injured, and how many buildings were destroyed, measuring the long term mental health effects from the quake will be far more difficult. The trauma tens of thousands of survivors endured, and the psychological impact left on the most vulnerable people, including young children, will be felt for years.

Guest:

Tarik Tuncay

Turkish Association of Social Workers

Two new earthquakes have hit southern Turkiye's Hatay province, reigniting the horrors millions felt on February 6, when a pair of quakes killed more than 41,000 people. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Monday evening, and was followed just minutes later by another 5.8 tremor. Several people have died, with eyewitnesses reporting damaged buildings collapsing. Just a few dozen kilometres away in Syria, the situtation was also grim, with monitoring groups saying several hundred had been injured.

Having already suffered more than a decade of war, large parts of northern Syria saw renewed destruction with the February 6 earthquakes. The twin tremors, centered in Kahramanmaras, struck just 100km from the Syrian border. More than a thousand buildings in Jindris and the Afrin region were destroyed. In the immediate aftermath, aid supplies fell dangerously short, as international assistance found it hard to enter Syria's last opposition stronghold. What impact will this month's quakes have on the country's ongoing conflict, and has the quake created an opening for the opposition and the regime?

Guests:

Chris Doyle

Middle East Analyst

Merve Seren Yesiltas

Associate Professor at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University

Right after the February 6 quakes struck, dozens of countries mobilized to provide both search and rescue teams, and crucial aid supplies. Türkiye's disaster management agency says that more than 9,000 international workers participated in post-quake operations, and that nearly 100 countries offered assistance. Many that were the first to provide aid, were both long time allies, and countries that Ankara saw a year of tense relations.

Guests:

Ibrahim Ozer

Turkish Red Crescent

Tudor Onea

Associate Professor at Bilkent University

Mark Meirowitz

Professor at SUNY Maritime College

Over a week has passed since two powerful earthquakes devastated southern Türkiye. Despite the golden window to find survivors dwindling, more than 230-thousand rescue workers are still combing through the rubble for any signs of life. Azerbaijan was among the first to dispatch rescue teams, which included more than 700 personnel in a show of solidarity with Türkiye. The country also sent a high-level structuralized mobile hospital with medical equipment to Kahramanmaras, the epicentre of the February 6th quakes.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov paid a visit to Turkiye’s quake-hit Kahramanmaras to provide humanitarian aid, and also to send his condolences. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations who is in close contact with AFAD says it is ready to continue and provide further assistance.

Guests:

Vusala Zahirova

Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations

Alper Kucuk

Executive Officer for International Relations at Red Crescent

Over a week has passed since two powerful earthquakes devastated southern Türkiye. Despite the golden window to find survivors dwindling, more than 230-thousand rescue workers are still combing through the rubble for any signs of life. Since the quake struck, thousands have been pulled out in dramatic rescues, including a 77-year-old woman who survived, trapped at the 212th hour of the earthquake in Adiyaman.

February 6th’s magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, have affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces. Some of the hardest hit areas include Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay and Malatya. Aleppo and Idlib in northern Syria have also suffered heavy damage, with several thousand people losing their lives. The overall death toll from Türkiye and Syria has passed 40,000. One of the main priorities now is to treat the more than 100,000 people who are injured.

Guests:

Louisa Vinton

Resident Representative of UNDP Türkiye

One week after a pair of devastating earthquakes hit southern Türkiye, survivors are still being pulled from the rubble. One of those miracle rescues involved a 40-year-old woman in Gaziantep, who was saved 170 hours after the quake struck on February 6. Several others, including a young boy and a 62-year-old, were also rescued on Sunday, having spent more than six days under the rubble.

Türkiye's disaster agency AFAD says that more than 230-thousand people are involved in search and rescue efforts. The number of international rescuers has risen to over 9,000, coming from dozens of countries. Last week's magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras, have affected 13 million people across 10 provinces in Türkiye's south. The death toll, passed 30,000 one week after the quake struck, with tens of thousands injured. Meanwhile, Türkiye has issued arrest warrants for more than 100 people, suspected of being involved in poor construction practices that led to so many buildings collapsing during last week's quakes.

Guests:

Alvaro Rodriguez

UN Resident Coordinator in Türkiye

Erdem Aycicek

Head of Programmes at ASRA

Tuncay Taymaz

Professor at ITU

Nearly one-hundred thousand rescue workers are racing against time, in their search for survivors from Monday's devastating earthquakes in southern Türkiye. Several thousand victims have already been pulled out of the rubble, as freezing temperatures and bad weather set in, making rescue attempts even more challenging. International aid teams from dozens of countries are already on the ground, as thousands of tonnes of aid and supplies make their way to the hardest hit areas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the epicentre of Kahramanmaras, where he addressed rescue workers and officials overseeing recovery operations.

Guests:

Durmus Aydin

Secretary General of IHH

David Alexander

Professor of Emergency Planning and Management at UCL

Kenan Akbayram

Assistant Professor at Bingol University

Nearly twenty thousand rescue workers are searching for survivors one day after a pair of powerful earthquakes rocked southern Türkiye. Battling rain, freezing temperatures and hundreds of aftershocks across 10 provinces, rescuers are scrambling to find those trapped under rubble. The death toll has been rising every hour, passing more than 3,000 by Tuesday morning. The first international rescue teams have arrived in Türkiye, following aid pledges from several dozen countries.

Monday's magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes destroyed several thousand buildings, with Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya and Hatay among the hardest hit areas. Türkiye's Vice President Fuat Oktay says nearly 350,000 earthquake victims are being housed in dormitories, universities and shelters. Rescue workers have so far managed to save several thousand people, some who were able to signal for help via social media.

Guests:

Bahia Zrikem

Policy Manager at Norwegian Refugee Council

Yakzan Shishakly

Co-Founder of Maram Foundation

Stephen Hicks

Seismologist at University College London