The death toll from the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that occurred on the border between southern Turkey and northern Syria on the 6th (local time) exceeded 8,100. At least 39,200 people were injured.
At least 5,894 people have been killed and more than 34,810 injured in Turkiye alone, Vice President Puat Okthai Turkiye announced on the evening of the 7th (local time). Another 5,775 buildings collapsed.
According to the White Helmets, a civil defense organization run by Syrian rebels and Syrian authorities, 2,270 people have been killed in Syria alone.
While the death toll in both countries has been tallied at 8,164, rescue authorities and private relief organizations are continuing desperate search and rescue operations for survivors.
The search operation is being carried out in the cold and inclement weather. Not only the rescue team, but also the victims’ acquaintances and residents are struggling to rescue the survivors using picks and crowbars, the BBC reported.
Vice President Oktai Türkiye said more than 8,000 people had been rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings so far.
There are complaints of delays in rescue services in some areas. In Gaziantep, the epicenter of the earthquake, the temperature has dropped to -6 degrees Celsius, raising concerns that the ‘golden time’ of isolated survivors may be further reduced. Experts see up to 72 hours after a natural disaster as the golden time.
In the aftermath of the strong earthquake and heavy snowfall, nearby major airports were also virtually suspended. At Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, flight delays and cancellations followed, and aid groups who came to the airport for rescue are waiting helplessly for flights.
Residents who lost their homes in the earthquake are temporarily staying in the middle of a collapsed road. An empty lot in Hatay, southern Turkey, has become a temporary shelter for survivors of the earthquake to avoid further collapse, the broadcaster said.
Refugees are replacing meals with bread and fruit provided by relief organizations, and relief trucks are throwing jumpers and sneakers at them, the BBC reported.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that the death toll could rise by up to 20,000.
On the 7th, the previous day, Katherine Smallwood, senior emergency officer for Europe at the WHO, told AFP, “As further collapses are likely to continue, we often see an increase of up to eight-fold in the initially tallied number of deaths.” At the time of the interview, the death toll had reached about 2,600.
“Unfortunately, with earthquakes, we always see the same phenomenon,” he said. “The initial magnitude of deaths and injuries increases considerably after a week.”
Earthquakes of magnitudes 7.8 and 7.5 occurred in the border areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria around 4 am on the 6th, and were strong enough to be detected in neighboring Israel, Lebanon, Egypt and Cyprus.
Türkiye has declared a state of emergency for three months in 10 southeastern provinces heavily affected by the earthquake.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.