1/10
Today is the sixth day since two major earthquakes struck the Syrian and Turkey border. The sound of rescuers trying to dig out lives and heavy equipment working to find signs of life has become the usual picture of the earthquake-hit regions of Turkey. The devastating earthquakes have flattened several high-rise buildings in the area, trapping hundreds of residents under debris and exposing them to freezing temperatures.
2/10
Nearly 28,000 people have been confirmed dead in the latest Turkey-Syria earthquake, that hit the country earlier this week. The United Nations has cautioned that the count can go up as more bodies are being taken out of the rubble. "The death toll from a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria will double or more from its current level," UN relief chief Martin Griffiths has said.
3/10
The above picture, shows a father holding the hand of his dead 15-year-old daughter as rescuers and civilians pick through the rubble where she died on Monday.
4/10
The devastating earthquake has left many homeless, some with no one in the family. In the above picture, a woman can be seen crying with her face half covered, near her house which is now just some 'rubble'. As per the records, this was the most devastating earthquake since 1939.
5/10
The pain and the trauma that people who are still stuck underneath the rubble are going through cannot be expressed in words. The thought of losing family members, and then being trapped inside the smashed building can hammer the mental sanity of the survivors. Today, we will hold a mirror to this other side of the picture from Turkey- and-Syria where an earthquake has claimed 28,000 lives so far.
6/10
In the midst of destruction and despair, miraculous tales of survival continue to emerge. In one of such incidence, the rescuers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria. However, the impact of disasters is much more than what we could ever think, or imagine. The way it affects the mental health of the people -- the survivors, medical workers, the rescuers, is something that is not much talked about. Today, we will hold a mirror to such emotions of the ones who have lived the disastrous moments of the earthquake.
7/10
Mental health is not just a word, it is a condition that comes with several tentacles that can mean different things. When we talk about mental health getting affected due to natural hazards, we mean the stress, trauma, and fear that the souls who have survived the disaster go through. The fear of being alone, the pictures of the rubble, and the memories of the family they have lost can haunt them for many weeks, or for a lifetime.
8/10
The earthquake has not only damaged the building but killed and destroyed families who were residing in them. What we see right now is the wreckage of those buildings, but what we don't see are the people who are looking for their family members underneath the rubble. The fear of being alone can be traumatizing for the survivors. The sounds of crying will aunt their ears for as long as they will leave. The loss that they have faced cannot be penned down, or even felt by anyone.
9/10
In the picture above, a woman can be seen looking out for any sign of her family members whom she lost in the earthquake. In a statement, the President of the country has appealed to the world to help them in this hour of crisis. After the devastating earthquakes, more than thousands of residents have been left without shelter in freezing temperatures. Some are also the lone survivors of their families, which has affected them mentally to an extent that cannot be expressed in a few words.
10/10
TheHealthSite spoke to some mental health experts to understand how such events affect the people who are left behind with absolutely nothing. According to the experts, it is more than what we can see through bare eyes. The effects are deeper than just losing a house. The trauma of being alone, the trauma of losing loved ones, and the chilling temperature can leave a devastating impact on the mental health of the survivors which cannot be traced right now, but eventually, that will be what the country will have to deal with.
