February 6, 2023
No. 031
A shallow, 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Kahramanmaraş Province in southern Türkiye in the early morning of February 6, causing heavy casualties. With Türkiye’s assent, the Republic of China (Taiwan) immediately dispatched a search and rescue team that same evening. The advance international mission comprises 40 members of the Taipei City Fire Department—the current rotating agency for relief operations—and a special search and rescue team from the National Fire Agency (NFA) under the Ministry of the Interior. The team has set out for Türkiye with three search and rescue dogs and 6.6 tons of equipment to participate in international relief operations in affected areas.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu presented an R.O.C. (Taiwan) national flag on the government’s behalf to the international search and rescue team at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, representing a hope that its members would do their utmost to save every life possible within the critical early phase for emergency rescue. He then spoke to the team, stating that when Taiwan was hit by a powerful earthquake on September 21, 1999, the Turkish government and private sector sent a rescue team to Taiwan, which successfully saved a Taiwanese national within 50 hours of the earthquake. Therefore, in response to news of the strong earthquake in southern Türkiye, the government of Taiwan quickly decided to send a search and rescue team to assist the Turkish people, demonstrating true friendship between the two countries.
The flag presentation ceremony at the airport was attended by Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang, Deputy Director General of the NFA Feng Jun-yi, and personnel from the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei. Taiwan’s advance international search and rescue team is traveling via a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, as arranged by the Turkish government, before transiting to the disaster area to promptly engage in rescue operations.
In addition to Kahramanmaraş Province in southern Türkiye, neighboring Hatay, Gaziantep, and Adana Provinces were also affected by the earthquake. Immediately following the temblor, MOFA expressed condolences to the Turkish government on behalf of the government of Taiwan and announced a donation of US$200,000 to assist with the resettlement of disaster victims. (E)