More than 5,000 people have died and at least 19,000 have been injured. in the series of devastating earthquakes that have struck south-eastern Turkey, near the border with Syria, leaving thousands of buildings in ruins as people continue to search for survivors amid low temperatures.
In Turkey, the death toll rose to 2,921 and the number of injuries to 15,834, as reported this morning by the national emergency agency (Afad), while in Syria there are at least 1,300 deaths and 3,400 injuries.
Some 7,800 people have been rescued in Turkey from the rubble of the thousands of buildings that collapsed in the two strong tremors, one of magnitude 7.7 and the other later of 7.6, reported the Government, according to the official Anadolu agency.
Some 25,000 people, including soldiers, are taking part in the rescue efforts, according to Orhan Tatar, a senior official at the national emergency agency, Afad, who said that 12.1 million euros (13.3 million dollars) in urgent funds for the ten most affected provinces.
Complications in rescues
In addition, dozens of countries have already started sending hundreds of rescuers and experts to search for survivors.
The vice-presidency indicated that more than 300,000 victims of the earthquakes have been housed in university centers, shelters and student residences.
The low temperatures and the snow in the area, where there are also mountainous territories that are difficult to access, complicate the rescue tasks. Local authorities have reported cuts in gas and electricity supplies in some areas, and the state oil company has cut oil supplies to the region as a “precautionary measure.”
In Syria, immersed in a civil war for more than a decade, the information on victims comes, on the one hand, from the Government of Bashar al-Asad and, on the other, from the last enclave of the country controlled by the opposition, surrounded by government forces supported by Russia.
In the area controlled by the regime, the latest figures spoke of 593 dead and 1,411 injured, according to the SANA agency.
In the northwestern province of Idlib, the last opposition stronghold, and in other parts of neighboring Aleppo outside the control of Damascus, at least 700 people have been killed and some 2,000 injured, according to the White Helmets rescue group.
These opposition areas, bordering Turkey, are closer to the epicenter, so there is less ability to coordinate the count, as there is no single government authority in charge of rescue operations.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recalled this Monday that in these opposition areas, “strongly” affected by the earthquake, 4.1 million people reside who depend on humanitarian aid to surviveand that they are mostly women and children.
That body explained that communication with the land is difficult due to “chronic” interruptions in telephone and internet services, to which is added information about alleged roadblocks in northwestern Syria, as well as in Turkish territory.
International aid
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called on the UN, NGOs and government organizations to “support” the government’s efforts to deal with the “humanitarian catastrophe”, according to a statement carried by the official news agency, SANA.
Thirteen countries of the European Union (EU) offered search and rescue teams on Monday, reported the European Commission, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogannoted that a total of 45 nations have offered assistance.
In several of the ten most affected Turkish provinces, there have been gas and electricity cutsand in some reservoirs cracks have appeared, although the authorities affirm that there is no structural damage.
146 earthquakes
The first major earthquake was recorded at 4:17 a.m. (01:17 GMT) and had a magnitude of 7.7according to the Turkish emergency service Afad, with an epicenter in Pazarcik in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.
Subsequently, up to 145 more tremors occurred, one of them of magnitude 7.6 at 10.24 GMT. “Because the removal of rubble continues in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of deaths and injuries will be,” Erdogan declared this morning. The president declared seven days of national mourning throughout the country.
In Kahramanmaras province, an 18-year-old woman has been found alive 12 hours after the quake, and in Diyarbaki, a man was rescued after being trapped for 14 hours, reports Anadolu Agency. The quake was also strongly felt in Lebanon, including Beirut.
One of the symbols of the enormous destruction of the quake is the historic Roman castle of Gaziantep, which had stood for more than 1,700 years and has been leveled by the tremor. The historic citadel of Aleppo in Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has also suffered damage.
The Turkish authorities have announced the closure of schools in the ten most affected provinces and all sports competitions have also been suspended.