More than 7,800 people have died as a result of a devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and Syria on Tuesday. Rescuers were attempting to find survivors in the wreckage of collapsed buildings while working against the clock in the harsh winter weather.
The number of fatalities appeared to be significantly on the rise as the disaster’s scope became more and more clear. According to a U.N. official, thousands of children could have perished.
Ten provinces in Turkey were placed under emergency rule by President Tayyip Erdogan. The deadliest earthquake to strike Turkey since 1999 was responded to by authorities very slowly and inadequately, according to the people of many affected Turkish cities, who expressed their rage and sadness. In Turkey and northern Syria, Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which was followed by an almost identical quake hours later, toppled thousands of structures, including hospitals, schools, and apartment buildings. Tens of thousands of people were injured, and countless numbers of people were left homeless.
Rescue teams had trouble getting to some of the worst-affected locations due to damaged roads, bad weather, a lack of supplies, and heavy equipment. There were fuel and energy shortages in several locations.
Residents combed through debris in a desperate search for survivors with little access to rapid assistance and occasionally without even the most basic tools.
Aid workers expressed particular worry about the situation in Syria, which is already experiencing a humanitarian crisis following a nearly 12-year civil war.
Erdogan proclaimed ten Turkish regions disaster zones and proclaimed a three-month state of emergency, allowing the government to make new laws without consulting parliament and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.
According to Erdogan, who is up for re-election in three months, the government would open hotels in Antalya, a popular tourist destination, to temporarily shelter anyone affected by the earthquakes.
Turkey’s death toll increased to 5,894, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay. More than 34,000 people were hurt. According to the government and rescue service in the northwest of the country, which is controlled by insurgents, the death toll in Syria was at least 1,932.
Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south, are about 450 km (280 miles) and 300 km, respectively, of the impacted area, according to Turkish authorities.
Deaths have been reported by Syrian officials as far south as Hama, around 250 kilometers from the epicenter.
Rescue workers labored day and night around the area while families waited in agony by piles of rubble, clinging to the hope that friends, family members, and neighbors may be discovered alive.
