A positive attitude is needed amid the complex post-earthquake situation in Türkiye, said the leader of a German charitable agency on Wednesday.
"We need a solution-oriented response," Alex, the team leader of Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland or ASB, told Anadolu Agency (AA) outside Adana Airport where he was waiting for a 15-member team to arrive.
ASB is a German charitable aid agency founded in 1888 and has 200 offices across the country. It also operates in 14 other nations.
Alex is the leader of a four-member ASB team that arrived in Türkiye on Feb. 7, a day after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors ripped through Kahramanmaraş and nine other provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.
At least 35,418 people were killed while thousands have been injured across the 10 provinces, which witnessed widespread destruction due to, what experts describe as, the "pancake" collapse of buildings.
"This is a complex situation and we cannot waste time going by the book," said Alex, who just gave his first name.
"Going by the book will cost us time ... We need to respond to the situation on the ground," he said, lauding "good" coordination and communication with Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
"We have very easy communication and working (relations) with the AFAD," he added.
In the past week, the ASB team visited Kahramanmaraş and Hatay provinces where they assessed the ground situation in terms of health and quality of water in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
Excited over how the local people responded to their work, Alex said, "Despite the (bad) situation, everyone was extending us help and offering us things."
"We are very happy over how people welcomed us, and how locals are organizing the humanitarian response for the quake-affected people," the German humanitarian leader said.
He said local people rushed to fix their car when it broke down during their survey.
Lauding the relentless efforts of Turkish doctors, Alex said his team will carry tents, medicine and objects for water purification in the affected areas in Samandağ in Hatay.
Disaster response
According to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, around 13,208 people injured in the quakes are still receiving treatment in Turkish hospitals including those flown to Ankara and Istanbul.
More than 249,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working on the ground, said AFAD. Almost 195,962 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, it added.
Condolences have poured in from around the world while expressing solidarity with Türkiye. Many countries are sending rescue teams and aid.
A total of 9,046 foreign personnel from 82 nations are currently working in the disaster zone, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
It also said that 100 countries had offered assistance so far, with two more expected to send rescue teams.
Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food and psychological support teams, along with over 12,300 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and bulldozers, were also sent to the affected areas.
President Erdoğan said last Friday that the country is facing one of the biggest disasters in its modern history.