Several buildings were destroyed following the powerful earthquake in southern Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023. (Credit: Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/Handout via Reuters)
BEIRUT — Lebanon is prepared to assist Turkey and Syria by "sending a rescue force from the army and Civil Defense volunteers to assist in the relief process" following a deadly overnight earthquake, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during an emergency meeting of the National Committee for Disaster Management at the Grand Serail in Beirut on Monday morning.
While the death toll from the quake is so far in the hundreds in both Turkey and Syria, no injuries or fatalities have been reported in Lebanon, according to caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi. However, the minister called on residents in Lebanon "to evacuate dilapidated buildings in order to avoid a new disaster," adding that the tremor from the quake was felt in the country at a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale.
Mikati said that he has assigned caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin to "contact the Turkish authorities, who requested some kind of cooperation in the field of relief, and we are in the process of following up on this issue with the possibility of sending a rescue force from the army and Civil Defense to assist in the relief process."
Mikati also stated that he has assigned caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh to "contact the brothers in Syria to offer to provide any required assistance," adding, "we will not hesitate for a moment in this matter, in order to be with our brothers in these difficult times, as they have always been by our side."
Returning his attention to the impact of the quake in Lebanon, Mikati said, "The necessary instructions were given with appropriate procedures to be implemented to prevent any panic, and to prepare, God forbid, for any emergency, and [for] preventive inspection measures of buildings and facilities that are said to have been damaged, especially older buildings, to make sure there are no cracks.”
The deadliest earthquake in Lebanon's modern history took place in 1956. With a magnitude of 5.6 degrees on the Richter scale, it killed 136 people and destroyed 6,000 homes.