Temperatures at night are freezing, they will be negative in the days to come. “Normal weather in northwest Syria is bad in winter. It’s cold, raining, snowing, it’s a bad time… It’s probably the worst time of the year for an earthquake”judged with TF1info, Johan Mooij, responsible for interventions in Syria for the NGO World Vision International.
Even though the first emergency following the earthquake is to rescue people under the rubble and treat them before they succumb to injuries, the weather slows down the work of rescuers while increasing the risk of hypothermia. “The authorities, the rescue teams, they are doing what they can, but the weather is not helping. It is bad, it is cold, and as time goes by, there are fewer and fewer survivors“regretted Johan Mooij.
In addition, the cold also threatens the thousands of people who are now homeless. “Immediately after the earthquake, our main objective was to manage to keep people warm, to help them find places to shelter and to provide them with heating”underlines the humanitarian official.