Over 4,000 dead in devastating earthquakes in Turkey, Syria

February 7, 2023 120 Views No Comment

New Delhi, February 7 (ANI): The death toll in Turkey and Syria has reached more than 4,000 after three earthquakes jolted the two nations on Monday.

The total number of injured in Syria and Turkey has reached 17,400 following the earthquakes.

At least 2,921 people were killed in 10 Turkish provinces, with nearly 16,000 injured, according to Turkish authorities.

The death toll in government-held areas of Syria climbed to 656 people, with some 1,400 injured, according to the health ministry. In the country’s rebel-held northwest, groups that operate there said at least 450 people died, with many hundreds injured.

On Monday, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 centered in the Pazarcik district jolted Kahramanmaras and hit several provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis, as per the Anadolu Agency report.

Later in the day, an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district jolted the region.

The earthquake was also felt in several neighboring countries, including Lebanon and Syria.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that 7,840 people have been rescued from the rubble as 11,022 search and rescue teams were working in the region.

He said that 338,000 earthquake victims have been kept in dormitories, universities and shelters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey will observe seven days of national mourning after earthquakes hit several southern provinces.

Erdogan in a tweet stated, ‘Due to the earthquakes that took place in our country on Feb. 6, a national mourning period was declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, Feb. 12, in all our country and foreign representations.’

Erdogan said that Turkey was shaken by the ‘biggest disaster’ with the earthquake since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake.

Speaking at the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) office in Ankara, he said that Turkey has taken action with all its institutions and all resources have been mobilized, Anadolu Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Deputy Minister of Health Ahmed Damiriya said that four truckloads of medicines and surgical and emergency supplies were sent to Aleppo, Lattakia, and Hama in addition to sending medical convoys, 28 ambulances, and seven mobile clinics to Aleppo and Lattakia, as per the SANA report.

Syria has requested United Nations member states, the General Secretariat of the Organization, its agencies and funds, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and international organisations to help and support the efforts made by the Syrian government in facing the repercussions of the devastating earthquake.