SW News: Pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has alleged that even after a week of the devastating earthquakes there are "almost no signs of an international reaction" in northern Syria. Xavier Stephen Bisits, project officer for Syria of ACN said, "The only helpers I have seen are from Lebanon. The world must not forget Syria."

According to Bisitis, the Franciscans in Latakia opened their parish house to provide housing for the needy. The project manager from Aid to the Church in Need met with Archbishop Mario Cardinal Zenari, the Apostolic Nuncio in Syria, in Latakia as well. The situation is considerably worse in the nearby town of Jabla. There, the earthquake caused 20 to 30 structures to collapse trapping people beneath the debris.

Years of strong collaboration between ACN and the Catholic and Orthodox communities in Syria have led to the first step of making 500,000 euros in emergency relief available. The money is intended for the technical assessment of damaged buildings in addition to the urgent provision of food and other requirements so that residents can return to their homes as soon as possible if they are deemed safe.

Public health experts and several aid groups have now warned that the devastating earthquakes could exacerbate a cholera outbreak in Syria. Bodies trapped beneath the rubble could contaminate the water supply and the lack of toilets is also a concern. Similarly, there are also fears of typhoid and typhus outbreaks.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Syrians' resilience to cope with the aftermath of the quake had diminished drastically after more than 10 years of crisis in the country. The United Nations said the disaster had displaced 5.3 million people in Syria.