Quake aid

An Israeli plane carrying prefabricated homes landed in Turkey's capital, Ankara, on Thursday, four days after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused all foreign help for victims of Sunday's earthquake.

The five prefab homes will provide shelter for only a few of the thousands of people who have lost their homes in the cities of Van and Ercis - two of the hardest hit areas in the east of the country.

The homes are set to be transported to Van later on Thursday, along with tents and aid supplies from a number of other countries.

At least 534 people are now thought to have died in the magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Thousands more have been left homeless, and many are injured.

Erdogan was criticized earlier in the week for having insisted that Turkey could deal with the disaster on its own. On Tuesday, he reversed his government's decision.

In Ercis on Thursday, an 18-year-old man was recovered from the rubble by a military rescue team from Azerbaijan. His rescue came shortly after a 19-year-old man was saved earlier in the day. Both were taken to the hospital in brief moments of hope as rescues become less and less frequent.

'Snow is coming - it's a disaster'

"We slept under a piece of plastic erected on some wood boards we found," Fetih Zengin, an estate agent whose house in Ercis was damaged, told the Reuters news agency. "We have 10 children, they are getting sick. Everyone needs a tent, snow is coming. It's a disaster."

Weather conditions in Turkey's east are getting colder and wetter as winter approaches, and this has been increasing people's sense of desperation. As some line up for tents in the mud and cold rain, other have been seen attempting to profiteer and loot.

"People are taking 10 tents and selling them, it's a disgrace," Ergun Ozdem, forced to sleep in a municipal park without shelter from the rain, told Reuters. "My shoes are filled with water."

At a warehouse in Van, an unnamed witness said 100 people had looted Red Crescent aid trucks carrying food, blankets, carpets and clothes - all in the presence of police officers who appeared to be powerless.

"The real looter is the AK Party [the Justice and Development Party, led by Erdogan]," the man told Reuters. "The aid received in Van is handed to the families of public servants and police."

Local official have denied the allegations.

High demand

Van was hit by a fresh magnitude 5.4 quake early on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of further damage.

Munir Karaloglu, the governor of Van province, has called off the search operation in the city of Van. He said only six buildings were destroyed there in Sunday's quake.

But many people are scared to return to their homes - even those that were left undamaged.

"Because of this psychology and the aftershocks, they don't use their undamaged houses and instead they ask for a tent," said Karaloglu. "This is why we have a problem."

Karaloglu said about 20,000 tents have so far been distributed. He added that not all of the 600,000 people affected by the quake actually need the emergency shelters. The ruling AKP estimates Turkey needs 115,000 tents.

"We are short of tents, but honestly the aid delivery organization is also problematic," said Cahit Bozbay, Van's deputy mayor.

The Turkish Red Crescent has been blamed for a lack of organization in the disaster, but its resources have been stretched this year. It has provided refuge for Syrians fleeing unrest in their country, and it has also sent famine aid to Somalia.

Author: Zulfikar Abbany (AP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler