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Canada will send an ‘initial’ $10M in help for Turkey, Syria earthquakes – National

Canada is sending $10 million in aid to help with the response to the devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

At least 5,000 people have died and thousands more injured after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake — and a subsequent earthquake of nearly equal strength — reduced homes and other buildings in the region to rubble.

“After yesterday’s devastating earthquakes, we’re providing $10 million in immediate aid to the people of Türkiye and Syria — and we’ll continue to provide support as the situation evolves,” Trudeau said in a tweet issued Tuesday morning.

“Our partners are already distributing food, emergency fuel, and shelter items.”

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Canada is currently conducting a “needs assessment” to determine what the next steps should be, International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan said as he left a cabinet meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday, and the $10-million figure represents an “initial” response.

“We’re also looking at various other options — medical teams, heavy urban search and rescue — and I know that also Minister Anand is looking at options for the (Disaster Assistance Response Team) DART as well,” Sajjan said.

Right now, however, no Canadian teams have been sent — but “nothing” is off the table, the minister said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the total number of deaths in Turkey had passed 3,500, with some 22,000 people injured.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed over 800, with some 1,400 injured, according to the Health Ministry. The country’s rebel-held northwest also saw at least 800 die, according to the White Helmets, the emergency organization leading rescue operations, with more than 2,200 injured.

The region sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. Some 18,000 were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8, with a depth of 18 kilometres (11 miles). Hours later, another quake, likely triggered by the first, struck more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) away with 7.5 magnitude.

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Corus Entertainment, the parent company of Global News, is supporting the Humanitarian Coalition in its appeal to help victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Donations can be made online

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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