Lucia Goldsmith | Turkiye, Syria earthquake will have devastating effects

While I can't begin to imagine the anguish of Australia's Turkish and Syrian diaspora communities, my own personal connection to the worst-hit areas has made this experience rather surreal.

I moved to the Turkish city of Gaziantep - which was badly impacted by the quake - in December 2016.

Relocating from one of the most dangerous places to be an aid worker, South Sudan, after five long years, I was excited to discover the many delights this city and country had to offer.

My new home was a bustling city of about 2 million. There were cinemas and shopping malls, as well as an abundance of incredible restaurants and lively bars with live music that my colleagues and I would frequent.

The Turkish people - as well as my Syrian refugee colleagues - were so friendly and welcoming.

On weekends, I would travel across the region: there was so much to see and do. I was in Gaziantep to head up an organisation responding to the Syrian conflict in the north of that country.

We were also supporting displaced Syrians living in southern Turkey. Just three short weeks after I arrived, calamity struck when the front line reached Aleppo, with heavy fighting costing many lives and leaving much of the city in ruins.

This experience was incredibly traumatic for many of my Aleppo-born staff - and tragically, some of our colleagues passed away. It was a mess: we were trying to assess what was going on; to ensure our staff were safe; and to support them in responding.

Many people were living in tents and other makeshift accommodation across northern Syria.

While last week's earthquake was a natural disaster, the parallels between these two events are eerie - I have a pretty clear understanding of what that region must look like right now.

I wasn't surprised to learn that a terrible earthquake had struck this place I once called home.

Anybody who lived there knew it was a risk. I even experienced a small earthquake. But nothing could prepare me to see the extent of the damage unfold and it was heartbreaking to watch the death toll balloon every day.

The latest earthquake that struck this week would have been so frightening and retraumatising people had only just started to process the impact of the earthquakes on February 6. In the past two weeks, I've been in contact with former and current colleagues and friends and learned that many of our staff have lost family members in this latest disaster.

And we cannot forget that the region hosts nearly 2 million Syrian refugees.

Five years ago, their living conditions were already precarious. They struggled to meet their basic needs and lived in a state of limbo, with no idea when or if they could return home.

Thanks to journalists and others on the ground in Turkey, we already have a fairly comprehensive overview of what is happening there, and the needs are becoming clearer.

Even before the earthquake struck, the people of Aleppo and north-west Syria were already living on the edge.

As inflation has skyrocketed, so has hunger, with little aid to offer to Syrians. The situation in parts of north-west Syria, on the other hand, remains opaque.

Many people were already living in tents.

The great irony is, they probably stood a much stronger chance of survival than those who lived in more solid and permanent structures.

There is also an active cholera outbreak in much of the country.

Now, I fear the media spotlight is already moving on, even as the sheer scale of the devastation is yet to be revealed.

Back home on the other side of the world, it's difficult to watch and process the images I'm seeing on my television screen.

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I wonder whether my office building was left standing. And about those former colleagues I've lost touch with. I know that there is no immediate solution for so many people who have lost everything.

Even so, our Oxfam colleagues - many of whom were impacted themselves by this disaster - have already begun responding.

So, as the media attention wanes along with hopes for those buried alive, we mustn't forget those who have survived.

They will need support for years to rebuild their lives. And the survivors' emotional and psychological scars will never fully heal.

As an aid agency with considerable experience responding to these sorts of emergencies, we know that this could end up being a double disaster.

The risks of disease outbreak and death from exposure are great.

We must do everything in our power to ensure those who have survived this disaster, don't succumb to another one.