Survivors struggle for any shelter

Shipping containers preferred over tents

Nearly two weeks after a massive earthquake leveled tens of thousands of buildings and displaced millions of people in Turkey and Syria, many are still struggling to fulfill their basic needs, and some are bedding down in tents, factories, train cars and greenhouses.

People pushed from their homes in the disaster zone described a wide range of conditions: Some were able to find regular hot showers, while others feared freezing to death.

The Turkish government and dozens of aid groups have launched a massive relief effort. The government said Wednesday that more than 5,400 shipping containers have been deployed as shelters and over 200,000 tents dispatched.

But it’s facing a massive disaster. The government says at least 84,000 buildings, containing more than 332,000 dwellings, were either destroyed by the Feb. 6 quake or too damaged to be used. There is no official figure for the number of people displaced in Turkey’s side of the disaster region, which is home to some 14 million, or 16 percent of the country’s population.

Buyuknacar, a village a few miles from the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude quake, was severely damaged, and 158 were killed. Two days after the initial tremor, a military helicopter brought supplies, and on the fifth day the road was cleared.

Although the villagers have tents, they are too flimsy to keep out the cold. Villagers said they feared icy conditions in the mountains would lead to more deaths.

Umut Sitil, 45, said: “Our basic need is, first, containers. Tents won’t work here. … People in tents will freeze to death.”

On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 2.2 million people had left the disaster zone. Of those, he said, the housing needs of 1.6 million had been fulfilled.

Francisco Seco The Associated Press Women prepare a meal inside a greenhouse Thursday following the quake in Samandag, Turkey. The Feb. 6 earthquake destroyed tens of thousands of buildings.