Disaster waste management after earthquakes: lessons from Turkey and Syria

Two consecutive earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023, causing devastating harm to the region. The death toll exceeded 50 000 people in Turkey,1 while subsequent aftershocks, fires, and flooding further increased the extent of the destruction across 11 provinces. The uncoordinated and disorganised immediate response resulted in failures in rescue and relief operations and emergency healthcare services.2In the aftermath, as the countries try to recover from the disaster, new environmental health risks threaten the area. Destruction of water, sanitation, and hygiene services and damaged public infrastructure increased the environmental health vulnerability of the region.Disaster waste management is an important environmental health concern. Because of the unprecedented scale of the destruction and the extent of the affected area, large amounts of demolition waste have been generated. According to the most recent assessment reports, as of 6 March 2023, 35 355 buildings collapsed and more than 200 000 damaged…
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