Countries across the EU have announced that teams of search and rescue are being dispatched to Turkey after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake
Several teams for search and rescue from countries in the European Union are being dispatched to Turkey, after the country, along with Syria, was hit by major earthquakes on Monday, February 6.
Teams have been mobilised by Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania with Hungary, Italy, Spain, Malta, and Slovakia also offering their assistance, as per Euronews.
Both Turkey and Syria were at by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake at 4 am local time, killing more than 2,000 people in the regions.
“We stand in full solidarity with the people of Türkiye and Syria after the deadly earthquake that hit this morning. We mourn with the families of the victims,” said, Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, as cited in the report.
She added, “Europe’s support is already on the way and we stand ready to continue helping in any way we can.”
Meanwhile, the European Commission said that several EU member states have responded to “Turkey’s call for assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism”.
EU Civil Protection Mechanism is a system through which rescue and humanitarian assistance are coordinated. This is done “in the event of natural and man-made disasters whose scale or nature exceeds the response capabilities of the affected country”.
Turkey is among 33 other counties that participate in this mechanism, along with the 27 countries from the EU bloc and Norway, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. But the help of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism can be requested by any country in the world incase their national emergency services are overwhelmed after a disaster.
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