In accordance with the Syria Civil Defence, 2,274 folks died in Syria’s rebel-held northwest area, with greater than 12,400 others wounded.
Atarib, Syria – When the primary earthquake struck on February 6, closely pregnant Sakhaa al-Mousa was jolted awake in her house. Earlier than the 24-year-old had time to fathom what was happening, the three-storey constructing she and her household had been in caved, trapping them beneath.
“I began screaming, hoping that somebody outdoors may hear me,” she advised Al Jazeera. “I may hear the rescuers however they couldn’t hear me. So I grabbed a rock and began banging it on one of many partitions above me.”
There was no sound coming from her husband or two younger sons.
“Being buried alive is such a daunting feeling,” she mentioned. “When the second quake occurred, I assumed to myself, ‘There’s no means I’ll survive this. There’s no means I’ll see the sunshine of day once more.’”
Al-Mousa was ultimately pulled out after three and a half hours and brought to hospital. Her husband, kids, and sister-in-law didn't survive.
4 days later, she gave beginning to a son and named him after his father, Omar.
“I can’t take into consideration something,” she mentioned, her voice trailing off. “I’m simply relieved to have somebody left for me on this world.”
Absence of heavy tools
Al-Mousa is one in every of many who misplaced complete households to the 7.8 and seven.6 magnitude quakes that struck Turkey and Syria.
Greater than 46,000 folks have been killed, with the loss of life toll anticipated to climb as many individuals are nonetheless lacking.
Neither Turkey nor Syria have mentioned how many individuals are nonetheless unaccounted for. The Syrian authorities and United Nations mentioned greater than 5,800 folks died on this nation alone.
Within the rebel-held northwest, the devastation wrought by the quakes was compounded by the delay in humanitarian help and the absence of worldwide efforts in search-and-rescue operations.
As a substitute, the Syria Civil Defence, also referred to as the White Helmets, was on the forefront of digging by way of rubble with restricted assets, and on February 10 – 4 days after the quakes occurred – introduced in a press convention the tip of their rescue efforts.
“The absence of heavy tools able to coping with pure disasters affected the flexibility of the groups to reply in a well timed method,” mentioned Munir al-Mustafa, the deputy director of the White Helmets. “We don’t have superior thermal tools able to detecting these trapped below the rubble, in addition to educated police canine.”
Al-Mustafa additionally pointed to the aftershocks, chilly winter climate, and heavy rain within the first two days following the quakes, which impeded rescue operations and led to additional concrete collapses.
“At present, we're persevering with our work in eradicating rubble from roads and important areas, and our groups are able to observe up on any report of lacking individuals,” he mentioned.
The White Helmets misplaced 4 members together with their households. In accordance with al-Mustafa, 2,274 folks died within the northwest area, with greater than 12,400 others wounded.
“Our groups documented the collapse of greater than 550 buildings, whereas greater than 1,570 buildings had been partially broken and 1000's of buildings and houses had been cracked all through the earthquake-hit areas,” he mentioned.
‘Like shedding part of your physique’
The quakes have solely compounded the psychological trauma of residents of the territory – which is dwelling to greater than 4 million Syrians, half of whom are internally displaced by Syria’s 12-year warfare and have fled government-controlled areas.
Healthcare specialists have warned that earthquake survivors may develop longer-term psychological well being issues, equivalent to melancholy or post-traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD), and that psychological well being within the area is anticipated to additional deteriorate within the wake of the catastrophe.
Two of Tariq al-Sayel’s six kids died after his house constructing fell within the city of Absinya. He additionally misplaced 70 relations on either side of his household.
“It’s like shedding part of your physique,” the 37-year-old mentioned.
Again in Atarib, Mahmoud Omar al-Ormi recounted how he misplaced nearly his complete household, with the deaths together with his pregnant spouse and 4 of his six kids, who ranged from 18 months to fifteen years outdated.
“I advised my spouse Adeela – could God relaxation her soul – I needed to exit and see what was taking place,” he mentioned, describing the primary moments of the quake. No sooner had he and his son Ahmad, 7, reached the entrance door, than their dwelling collapsed, burying half of his physique.
Ahmad was the primary to be rescued and Mahmoud was pulled out half an hour later.
“I used to be bleeding from my head and my legs. I assumed I used to be dying,” he mentioned. “When the rescuers pulled me out, I felt like I used to be reborn.”
The sensation didn't final lengthy as he waited for hours for any signal of life from his spouse and 5 different kids.
After eight hours, simply after midday on the identical day, his two-year-old daughter Shareefa was pulled out, her face closely bruised and her eyes swollen shut, however alive.
He waited till the subsequent evening earlier than rescuers pulled out the lifeless our bodies of his spouse, his different two sons, Omar, 15, and Sha’ban, 14, and his daughters who had been 13 years and 18 months outdated.
“I spend my days strolling in our neighbourhood, trying on the sheer scale of destruction,” al-Ormi mentioned.
“I go to their graves each evening and shout at my household to reply to me and cry once they don’t. That is God’s will and we have now to simply accept it,” he mentioned, his voice breaking.
Further reporting by Linah Alsaafin
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