The combined death toll from Monday’s earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria reached 11,416 on Wednesday, as rescue efforts continued across the region, despite being hampered by cold weather conditions.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the death toll from Monday’s quake had reached 8,754 in Turkey.
Visiting Kahramanmaras, which was at the epicenter of the quake, he said “On the first day we experienced some issues, but then on the second day and today the situation is under control”.
Erdogan promised the government aims to build housing within one year for those left without a home in the 10 provinces affected.
The death toll in Syria has risen to 2,662, according to reports from AFP.
Syria’s government has received help from a host of Arab countries including Egypt and Iraq, as well as from its key ally Russia, which has sent rescue teams and deployed forces already in Syria to join relief work, including in Aleppo.
Syria has activated the EU civil protection mechanism, two days after the earthquake, to request further assistance from the 27-country bloc and the eight other nation states that are part of the program.
More than 298,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to this week’s deadly earthquake, Syrian state media has reported.
The number appeared to be a reference to only the parts of Syria under government control, not those held by other factions in the north-west of the country, which is closer to the epicenter of Monday’s quake.
Frantic search for survivors after the earthquake in Turkey, Syria
Rescuers are racing against time for survivors from the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkey and neighboring Syria.
More than 8,000 people so far have been pulled from the debris in Turkey said Turkish vice-president Fuat Oktay. About 380,000 people have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, with others huddling in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers.
Moment rescuers pull five-year-old girl alive from the wreckage in Syria:
Turkey earthquake victim rescued after social media plea under rubble:
Rescuers gave little boy water from a bottle cap:
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