The EU had deployed 1,652 emergency responders to Turkey through its Civil Protection Mechanism by the time we went to press. They are part of the 36 EU medical and technical teams currently in the area providing emergency support.
The number of EU rescue personnel responding to this disaster is unprecedented. As a comparison, a similar contingent of 250 specialists was recently sent to Chile to combat the dangerous wildfires, affecting around 300,000 ha of forests and claiming 24 lives.
The current teams are only first responders, more material and financial aid will be provided to the disaster struck area in the forthcoming weeks.