Earthquakes-Affected Provinces: A Comprehensive Needs Assessment - Türkiye (June 2024)

On 6 February 2023, the 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes centered in Pazarcık Elbistan (Kahramanmaraş), Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Adana and Elazığ provinces, along with the epicenter Kahramanmaraş, resulted in significant damage and disruption. Consequently, a state of emergency was declared in these regions. According to official statistics, 50,783 individuals perished, 115,353 sustained injuries, and 37,984 structures were destroyed.

Immediately following the earthquake, IBC was operational in Hatay, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Kilis, Kahramanmaraş, and Şanlıurfa, providing shelter, healthcare, hot food distribution, in-kind assistance, protection, MHPSS, child-friendly space activities, and livelihoods.

The ongoing effects of the disaster have highlighted the continued need for mental health and psychosocial support for those affected, both individually and collectively. In addition to this, protection risks persist in disaster area, container cities and tent areas, rural areas, and temporary accommodation centers where refugees live. The lack of adequate physical infrastructure, the inadequacy of safe and social areas, the decline in livelihoods, the reduction in privacy, and the potential for an increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence in these areas in the region also contribute to the heightened risk of child protection issues.

The disaster, which had a profound impact, also affected the education sector, as well as numerous other sectors. According to a report published by the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey in February 2024, approximately 3.7 millionstudents and 220 thousand teachers in 11 provinces were affected by the earthquake disaster. While many students were transferred to other cities, scholarship quotas were increased, and materials and containers were transferred to the region.