1 of 4 Huseyin Berber, 62, hospitalized after being rescued from rubble in Antakya, Turkey — Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Portal Huseyin Berber, 62, hospitalized after being rescued from rubble in Antakya, Turkey — Photo : Maxim Shemetov/ Portal
More than a week after his home was destroyed by a deadly earthquake in southern Turkey, Mohammad Emin’s body is still covered in dust and dirt.
Like countless other victims of a disaster that claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people in Turkey and Syria, he is still awaiting a washout hit by a lack of clean water that international health officials say poses a public health risk.
“We haven’t been able to do the dishes since the earthquake,” said Emin, a 21yearold graphic design student, as he brought flu medication from a clinic at an openair stadium that serves as a camp for displaced people in the city of Kahramanmaras.
2 out of 4 people manually remove copies of the Koran and the Gospel from rubble in Kahramanmaras, Turkey — Photo: Suhaib Salem/Portal People manually remove copies of the Koran and the Gospel from rubble in Kahramanmaras, Turkey — Photo: Suhaib Salem/Portal
With much of the region’s sanitation infrastructure damaged or rendered inoperable by last Monday’s two magnitude 7.8 and 7.6 earthquakes, Turkish health officials face a daunting task as they try to ensure that survivors, from many of whom are homeless, remain diseasefree.
A doctor at the clinic, Akin Hacioglu, said between 15 and 30 doctors run the facility, the only one of its kind in the camp, which serves up to 10,000 people during the day.
They offer residents tetanus shots on request and distribute hygiene kits containing shampoo, deodorant, pads and wet wipes, Hacioglu said.
3 out of 4 people from Kahramanmaras get food in a camp in front of a stadium in Turkey — Photo: Suhaib Salem/Portal People from Kahramanmaras get food in a camp in front of a stadium in Turkey — Photo: Suhaib Salem/ Portal
But Emin said there were no showers at or near the camp and that the stadium’s six toilets were not enough to meet demand.
He also said he couldn’t shower or change, as did several other camp residents Portal spoke to.
4 out of 4 people picking up objects from rubble in Turkey’s Hatay province — Photo: Eloisa Lopez/Portal People picking up objects from rubble in Turkey’s Hatay province — Photo: Eloisa Lopez/Portal
In the city of Antakya, further south towards the Syrian border, there are more chemical toilets than in the first few days after the earthquake, but many residents say more are needed.
Batyr Berdyklychev, the World Health Organization representative in Turkey, said water scarcity “increased the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks of communicable diseases”.
WHO is working with local authorities to step up surveillance for waterborne diseases, seasonal flu and Covid19 among displaced people, he added.