'People are traumatised & move around in a daze'

Irish aid worker on devastation of Turkey quake

- NICOLA DONNELLY

AN Irish aid worker says the death, destruction and trauma experienced by survivors of the Turkish earthquake is "immense and staggering".

Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed, burying entire families and leaving more than 50,000 people dead in Turkey and North West Syria after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck on February 6.

Emergency aid response specialists with the Irish organisation Concern Worldwide flew to the disaster zone to assist their colleagues.

The lifesavers have been using the money donated by the public to provide much needed aid such as food, heaters, toilets and psychosocial support to adults and children left traumatised by what they have experienced.

Their work has continued despite many large aftershocks and new powerful 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude quakes that shook the same region again this week.

"The devastation I found is immense and staggering," said emergency operations director Ros O'Sullivan, from Leitrim.