Vol. 512 No. 2
34 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the assistance provided for relief efforts in Turkey following the recent earthquake; if he will increase the aid in view of the fact that this was the second earthquake in 1999 and severe hardship was endured by so many people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25499/99]
The devastating earthquakes that struck the Marmara region of Turkey in August and again in November of this year, have resulted in great human suffering. Thousands were killed with many more left injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.
The first earthquake to hit the region on 17 August measured 7.4 on the Richter scale and resulted in the devastation of lives and homes. The Turkish authorities immediately requested international assistance. The response to the request was timely and substantial with help coming from EU member states and many other countries such as the USA, Japan and Israel. The official death toll from that earthquake now stands at over 17,000 and the number of reported injured stands at almost 44,000. Three hundred thousand homes were destroyed and there are currently 130,000 people are living in tent cities with a further 80,000 living in ad hoc settlements.
Aftershocks have continued in the region since 17 August. On 12 November a second major earthquake struck Duzce, a populated area just 100 kilometres from Izmit, the centre of the August earthquake. Building on their earlier experience, the Government response was quick and effective. Once again international search and rescue teams arrived at the site within hours. Latest Turkish Government figures put the death toll from this most recent quake at over 500, with over 3,000 injured.
The Irish Government has been to the forefront in providing humanitarian aid to the victims of these disasters. We co-ordinated our response with the aid flowing in from other countries and concentrated on meeting the priority needs of the thousands of wounded and homeless.
In the days following the first earthquake an initial grant of IR£200,000 was made to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent to enable them to purchase essential supplies such as food, water and any available medicines locally.
A further £200,000 was allocated to the United Nations relief agencies operating in the region. This was divided between the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, and UNICEF. A sum of £50,000 was granted to OCHA to assist the Turkish Government in co-ordinating the relief effort. The remaining £150,000 was allocated to UNICEF to address essential needs by providing water and sanitation and supplying humanitarian goods such as bedding, fuel and medicines.
At the request of the Turkish Government, £190,000 was used to purchase medical supplies and water purification tablets in Ireland, which were unavailable in Turkey. Over four metric tonnes of these goods were transported to Istanbul, at no cost, by Aer Lingus and Turkish Airlines.
