Strong earthquake hits Syria and Turkey
NOTICE: Graphic footage – Correspondent Alex Hogan reports on the Middle East earthquake that rocked the region on Monday morning, killing thousands in ‘Special Report’.
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria killed more than 9,400 people, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.
Turkish authorities updated the country’s death toll to 6,957 on Wednesday. In the area controlled by the Syrian government, country officials have reported 1,250 dead. The White Helmets, volunteer first responders in a rebel-held enclave of Syria, have reported 1,280 dead.
More than 30,000 people were injured by Monday morning’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the death toll is expected to continue to rise as rescuers search under the rubble for survivors.
The quake is the world’s deadliest seismic event since 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000.
Rescuers search for survivors in Turkey and Syria after earthquake kills more than 5,000
People try to reach people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in Malatya, Turkey on Tuesday February 7, 2023.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit the city of Pazarcik, the epicenter of the earthquake, and the hardest-hit province of Hatay on Wednesday. He has faced calls to send more support to disaster areas. The country now has around 60,000 aid workers in the earthquake-hit area, but many people are still waiting for help as such a large area has been affected.
The earthquake collapsed thousands of buildings and freezing temperatures and constant aftershocks complicated relief efforts.
Search teams from more than two dozen countries have been sent to help Turkey’s emergency personnel, and the country has received numerous pledges of help.
In Syria, the earthquake toppled thousands of buildings in the latest devastation for a country grappling with a 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
Rescuers and medics rescue a woman from the rubble of a collapsed building in Elbistan, Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
7.8-magnitude EARTHQUAKE: OVER 2,300 DEATHS IN TURKEY AND SYRIA
Turkey hosts millions of refugees from war. The earthquake-hit area in Syria is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-controlled enclave.
As many as 23 million people could be affected in the quake-stricken region, according to Adelheid Marschang, the World Health Organization’s senior emergency officer.
Many survivors in Turkey have had to sleep in cars, outdoors or in government shelters after the earthquake forced them from their homes.
People remove furniture and appliances from a collapsed building after a devastating earthquake rocked Syria and Turkey in the city of Jinderis, Aleppo province, Syria on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
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Erdogan said 13 million people in Turkey have been affected. He declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces.
More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the rubble in Turkey and some 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, according to authorities.
In Syria, aid has been hampered by war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border. The United Nations said it was “exploring all avenues” to deliver supplies to the rebel-held northwest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
