Turkey-Syria earthquake: At least 5,434 people were killed in Turkey, and at most 1,872 in Syria in the latest toll. This combined death total of 7,306 deaths is the highest in recent history.
Sanliurfa (Turkey): Tuesday saw bitter cold in Turkey as rescuers from Syria and Turkey raced against the clock to locate survivors in buildings that were destroyed by the earthquake that claimed more than 7,800 lives.
Tremors that caused more destruction to a border region already affected by conflict left people burning debris in the streets to keep warm while international aid arrived.
More than 7,800 People Killed in Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “Children Freezing from Cold”
Turkey-Syria Earthquake – WHO stated that massive earthquakes could affect up to 23,000,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Sanliurfa (Turkey): Tuesday saw bitter cold in Turkey as rescuers from Syria and Turkey raced against the clock to locate survivors in buildings that were destroyed by an earthquake that claimed more than 7,800 lives.
Tremors that caused more destruction to a border region already inflicted by conflict left people burning debris to keep warm while international aid arrived.
There are some remarkable survival stories, however. One such tale is of a baby who was pulled alive from the rubble in Syria by her umbilical cord, and whose mother died in Monday’s earthquake.
Khalil Al-Suwadi, a cousin, said to AFP that they heard a voice as they were digging. “We cleaned the dust off the baby’s body and found it with an intact umbilical cord so we removed it and took her to the hospital.
The infant is the only survivor from her immediate family. All the rest were killed in Jindayris, a rebel-held town.
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck as people were sleeping, flattened thousands of structures and trapped millions of people.
Whole blocks of buildings fell, causing the most severe destruction near the epicenter of the earthquake between the Turkish cities Gaziantep (Turkey) and Kahramanmaras.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, declared Tuesday a three month state of emergency in 10 southeastern regions.
Children freeze
Several nations, including China, the United States and the Gulf States, have offered to help. Search teams and relief supplies have already begun arriving by air from dozens of countries.
People in the most affected areas felt that they were left to their own devices.
“I can’t bring my brother from the ruins. I can’t get my nephew back. Take a look around. Ali Sagiroglu, a Turkish citizen from Kahramanmaras, stated that there is no official state here.
He said, “For two days we’ve not seen the state around here… Children have been freezing from the cold,”
More than 7,800 People Killed in Turkey and Syria Earthquake: “Children Freezing from Cold”
Turkey-Syria Earthquake – WHO stated that massive earthquakes could affect up to 23,000,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Sanliurfa (Turkey): Tuesday saw bitter cold in Turkey as rescuers from Syria and Turkey raced against the clock to locate survivors in buildings that were destroyed by an earthquake that claimed more than 7,800 lives.
Tremors that caused more destruction to a border region already plagued with conflict left people burning debris in the streets to keep warm while international aid arrived.
There are some remarkable survival stories, however. One such tale is of a baby who was pulled alive from the rubble of Syria by her umbilical cord, and whose mother died in Monday’s earthquake.
Khalil Al-Suwadi, a cousin, said to AFP that they heard a voice as they were digging. “We cleaned the dust off the baby’s body and found it with an intact umbilical cord so we removed it and took her to the hospital.
The infant is the only survivor from her immediate family. All the rest were killed in Jindayris, a rebel-held town.
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck as people were sleeping, flattened thousands of structures and trapped millions of people.
Whole blocks of buildings fell, causing the most severe destruction near the epicenter of the earthquake between the Turkish cities Gaziantep (Turkey) and Kahramanmaras.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President, declared Tuesday a three month state of emergency in 10 southeastern regions.
23 million people could be affected
For a total of 7,306 deaths, the latest figures show that 5,434 people were killed in Turkey and at most 1,872 in Syria.
There are concerns that the death toll could rise, with WHO officials saying that as many as 20,000 people may have already died.
WHO warned that the earthquake could affect up to 23,000,000 people and asked nations to help the disaster area.
The Syrian Red Crescent appealed for Western countries to lift sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government and to provide assistance. This complicates international relief efforts.
Washington and the European Commission stated Monday that humanitarian programs they support were responding to the destruction of Syria.
UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, also stated that it was available to assist in cases of damage at two sites on its World Heritage List in Turkey and Syria.
UNESCO stated that at least three other World Heritage Sites could be affected by the Aleppo earthquake, which also damaged Aleppo’s old town and fortress in Diyarbakir (southeastern Turkey).
Many of the earthquake-stricken areas of northern Syria have been devastated by years of war and bombardment by Syrian forces and Russian troops. These bombardments destroyed homes, hospitals, and clinics.
Jandairis, a northern Syrian town that was devastated by the earthquake in January 2016, had its residents searching for survivors with their naked hands and pickaxes.
“My entire family is under there — my children, my daughter and my son-in law… Ali Battal said, “There’s no one else that can get them out.” His face was stained with blood and his head covered in a wool scarf against the bitter cold.
“I hear their voices. “I know they are alive, but there is no one to rescue them,” said the man in his 60s.
The Syrian health ministry reported that there was damage in the provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, Hama, Tartus, where Russia leases a naval facility.
The dilapidated infrastructure caused many buildings to collapse in Aleppo, Syria’s commercial center before war.
According to AFP, a prisoner mutiny occurred in a jail that held members of the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria. At least 20 escaped after the earthquake.
Turkey is located in one of the most active earthquake zones on Earth.
3.3,000 people died in the eastern Erzincan region of the country’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 1939.
In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed in the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey’s Duzce region.
Experts warn that a major earthquake could decimate Istanbul, a city of 16 million inhabitants and filled with rickety houses.