Austria supports the emergency aid fund of the World Food Program of the United Nations (WFP) with six million euros to help people in the Turkish earthquake region. Funds from the special pot for international food aid have been made available for this purpose, announced Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) in a broadcast on Saturday. Totschnig traveled to Turkey on Tuesday and visited the earthquake region on Wednesday.
“It is indescribable what suffering the people in the earthquake region have to go through. Over 9 million people – as many as live in Austria – are affected by the consequences of this devastating earthquake,” emphasized Totschnig. Around a million people have benefited from WFP aid, according to the Minister of Agriculture. “Around 900,000 are provided with hot meals every day and around 100,000 people, especially families, are provided with food packages.”
Austria also supports Turkey in the reconstruction and repair of farms, Totschnig continued. The Minister of Agriculture explained that he had reached an agreement with the Turkish Minister of Agriculture on site to intensify exchanges in the areas of agriculture, forestry and water management.
On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 shook southeast Turkey and northern Syria. As a result, more than 56,000 people died. In Turkey alone, more than 300,000 buildings were destroyed and badly or moderately damaged. The region affected in Turkey is known as the “Fertile Crescent”. Almost 15 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product and 20 percent of Turkey’s food exports came from there. Exact figures on the situation in Syria are hardly available.