“Syria was not an earthquake region for two and a half decades and was not prepared for such an earthquake,” Assad said. The emergency aid from allied countries helped to reduce the extent of the disaster. He announced new measures to cushion the consequences. Syrian authorities have provided temporary shelters and a new relief fund is being set up to help the victims.
The most important lesson from the disaster is that “we managed to weather the circumstances in our different areas,” he said.
Syria’s rulers rarely appear in public. Last week, he and his wife traveled surprisingly to the earthquake area and visited a clinic and a rubble field, among other things.