The Dutch authorities have decided to speedily issue visas to Turkish residents affected by the earthquakes. This was reported on February 15 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
“The applications of people from the earthquake zone in Turkey applying for short-term visas will be considered as a priority,” the portal quotes the message. Dutch news.
It is noted that Turkish citizens arriving on such visas will also be able to renew them after the 180-day period if there are no conditions for their return to their homeland.
On February 14, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, Hans Kluge, called the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria the worst natural disaster in the region in the last 100 years. According to Kluge, 26 million people in both countries are in need of humanitarian assistance.
He also noted the difficult situation with the provision of medical care in Turkey. According to him, about 80 thousand people in the country are in hospitals, which creates a burden on the healthcare system.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred on February 6 in the province of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey near the border with Syria. The latest figures put the death toll in Turkey at 35,418. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in Syria, a natural disaster claimed the lives of 8.5 thousand people.
In turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the search and rescue operation after the earthquake in the country will last until the last survivor is removed from the rubble. At the same time, the number of personnel directly involved in search and rescue operations exceeded 35 thousand people. Also in use are 12,335 construction vehicles, 76 aircraft and 26 ships.
