[News Terms] 'White Helmets' Responding to Earthquake Damage in Turkey and Syria

Rescue Team Active Since the Start of the Syrian Civil War
Earthquake Delivers Fatal Blow to Buildings Weakened by Prolonged Conflict

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the border region between Turkey and Syria continues to rise like a snowball, the rescue team 'The White Helmet,' which has been active in the area since the Syrian civil war, is taking the lead in saving lives and gaining international attention.

According to Middle Eastern local media such as The Times of Israel on the 6th (local time), White Helmet members are conducting rescue operations in the affected areas of Idlib and Aleppo, where the earthquake damage was severe within Syria. The White Helmet is a civilian rescue team that has been active since the early stages of the Syrian civil war in 2014 and immediately began rescue operations after the earthquake occurred.

On the 6th (local time), White Helmet members are conducting rescue operations in Idlib, Syria, where buildings collapsed due to an earthquake in the border area between Turkey and Syria. Idlib=EPA·Yonhap News Photo by EPA

On the same day, the White Helmet released a video on Twitter showing the rescue of a child trapped under building debris in the village of Katma north of Aleppo, calling for international support. The White Helmet stated, "Since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake, northwestern Syria is facing a catastrophic situation," and appealed to the international community, saying, "Many people are trapped under building rubble and are immobilized by the winter cold."

The official name of the White Helmet is the 'Syrian Civil Defense (SCD),' a relief organization voluntarily formed by citizens after the Syrian government’s fire stations and other operations completely ceased following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. In 2016, it was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for saving more than 110,000 lives during the civil war.

Despite the White Helmet’s efforts, concerns are growing that the situation in Syria will worsen further. Especially in Syria, where infrastructure damage is already severe due to the prolonged civil war, more residents are expected to become victims. According to The New York Times (NYT), the northwestern region of Syria, which was a major area affected by this earthquake, has been home to 4.6 million refugees who fled the long-term civil war centered in southern Syria since 2014. Among them, more than 2.7 million live in shelters, all of which were lost due to the recent earthquake.

Amid the prolonged civil war and Western sanctions, Syria’s gross domestic product (GDP) has already fallen to less than half of what it was in 2010, and the government’s finances have collapsed, causing difficulties in supplying basic infrastructure such as fuel, food, and electricity, NYT pointed out. In some areas, electricity supply is less than one hour per day, leading to an increase in deaths from cold during winter.

The poor condition of buildings due to the war and the complete lack of earthquake-resistant buildings?since no earthquake had occurred for over 200 years?were also cited as reasons for the high number of casualties. Kishore Zaiswal, a structural engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), explained, "The upper floors of buildings collapsed onto the lower floors like pancakes, stacking layer upon layer," adding, "This is evidence that the buildings absorbed no shock at all."