Chinese Red Cross hard at work in quake-struck Syria

The second batch of humanitarian aid from the Red Cross Society of China arrived in Syria at 1 pm Monday local time, as the organization strives to meet the urgent needs of people in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

The country and its neighbor Turkiye were hit by a 7.8-magnitude quake on Feb 6, which was followed by a 7.5 magnitude jolt and hundreds of aftershocks.

After the Red Cross' first donation, which contained 5,000 medical items, the new batch of relief includes medicine for epidemic diseases that are common after natural disasters such as cholera, as well as tents, hardshell jackets and household first-aid kit, aid worker Guo Yang said.

Guo arrived in Syria with four of his colleagues and the first batch of aid on Thursday.

He said the main tasks of his team are to receive, transport and distribute relief supplies. They also need to assess the needs of Syria and collect information to support the group's decision-making.

The demands of Syrians affected by the disaster have been gradually met as aid from different countries arrived, Guo said.

However, he also noted some challenges for the rescue operation.

The quake struck a vast area, covering the country's northwestern and northeastern regions that have been plagued by civil strife for a long time, he said. Many roads in affected areas were damaged, further hindering rescue efforts.

He said makeshift residences such as tents, cold-proof life necessities like hardshell jackets and first aid medicine are still among the items victims urgently need.

With emergency search and rescue operations coming to an end, post-disaster reconstruction work concerning transportation, hygiene, water consumption, school and housing will need to be rolled out, he said.

To address the shortage of personnel and the language barrier, he said, his team has made intensified efforts to communicate with representative offices of organizations under the global Red Cross network in Syria and make better use of volunteers from local branches.

The efforts have helped the team advance its work steadily, he said, adding they have been working around the clock.