Türkiye & Syria: the Death Toll From Earthquakes Exceeds 11,200

Türkiye & Syria: the Death Toll From Earthquakes Exceeds 11,200
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8 February 2023
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Rescue operations are becoming increasingly desperate due to complications caused by freezing temperatures and aftershocks.

On Wednesday, the death toll from Monday's powerful earthquakes topped 11,200, including 8,574 in Türkiye and 2,662 in Syria. Authorities also reported nearly 55,000 people injured.

"Here, at the epicenter of the earthquake that hit ten provinces, I can say that for now there are 8,574 dead and 49,133 injured," President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to the city of Kahramanmaras.

"We will start removing the rubble and our goal is to rebuild the houses in Kahramanmaras and the other affected cities within a year," he vowed and announced financial aid for the victims.

Despite the fact that some 60,000 members of rescue teams are deployed in Türkiye in the hardest-hit area, the devastation is so great and the area so wide that there are still places where no help has reached.

Citizens describe a dramatic situation in the dead of winter due to the interruption of water, electricity and heating supplies, the scarcity of fuel, and the difficulties in obtaining medicines.

"No gas station has fuel in the region... gasoline and diesel top the list of needs," said Yilmaz Kurt, a doctor who traveled to Maras with his car loaded with first aid supplies.

The rescue teams continue to free alive people who have remained over 50 hours under the rubble. Rescue operations, however, are becoming increasingly desperate due to complications caused by freezing temperatures and aftershocks.

In Syria the death toll from the earthquakes so far stands at 2,662 and the number of people injured at 4,985. Hundreds of people remain trapped in the rubble. The areas of the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo concentrate the highest number of victims in a country already punished by twelve years of armed conflict.

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