US Prepares Foreign Aid to be Deployed Following Turkey's Earthquake | VOA News

Members of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) prepare foreign aid to be sent to Turkey to assist in search and rescue operations following Turkey's devastating earthquake Monday.

The same task force was deployed in the aftermath of two earthquakes that hit Turkey in 1999.

The teams are expected to depart Monday from Virginia.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in statement that U.S. "teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake."

Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer condolences and said the United States will send "any and all" aid needed to help recovery, the White House said in a statement.

John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said the United States is deploying two 79-person urban search and rescue teams and that the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, are coordinating with their Turkish counterparts on additional assistance.