The EU says it has been responding to the disaster since day one and is now scaling up its assistance to the people affected.

18 EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia) have offered millions of items, including shelter equipment, heaters, generators, furniture, medical equipment, hygiene kits, food and warm clothing.

In addition, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Albania deployed medical teams while the Netherlands has offered a medical evacuation plane.

2,000 tents and 8,000 beds mobilised and hosted by Romania have arrived in the country, while 500 relief housing units equipped with 2,500 beds are on its way from the stockpile hosted by Sweden.

In total, €5.5 million of EU humanitarian aid has been allocated to respond to the immediate needs. This includes €3.2 million newly allocated funds, and more than €2.3 million redirected funds from ongoing humanitarian projects.

For Syria: The first flight from the EU’s humanitarian stockpile in Dubai is landing today in Adana, from where it will be delivered to non-government controlled Northwest Syria by the EU’s humanitarian partner International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The next two flights are arriving next week and are coordinated with Ireland.

For Syria, meanwhile, 12 European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, and Norway) have offered in-kind assistance to Syrian people via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The aid is being channelled via hubs in Beirut and Gaziantep where EU civil protection experts help coordinate the incoming donations. Several planes from Romania have already arrived in Beirut and Gaziantep, and the first deliveries to Syria have already taken place. Shelter items from Bulgaria and medicines from Cyprus have also arrived in Beirut.

On Friday a ship from Italy is also arriving in Beirut to deliver large family tents.

Since the disaster hit Syria, the EU has mobilised €10 million of humanitarian aid to offer rapid relief to earthquake victims. This includes €3.7 million newly allocated funds, and more than €6 million redirected funds from ongoing humanitarian projects.

Image: By Hilmi Hacaloğlu – https://www.voaturkce.com/a/hatayda-buyuk-yikim/6953285.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128529242