Istanbul February 10 2023: The death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its aftershocks has passed 21,000, which struck the southeastern region of Turkey along the border with Syria, and continued to rise.
At least 17,674 deaths have been reported in Turkey, while 3,377 people have died in Syria. The death toll is likely to keep rising.
Hopes of finding people alive have dimmed and experts fear the toll could rise sharply.
Turkish authorities say some 13.5 million people have been affected in an area spanning roughly 450km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, and 300km (186 miles) from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south.
The first earthquake struck at 4:17am (01:17 GMT) on Monday and was centred in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province. Less than 12 hours later, a second 7.6 magnitude tremor struck the same region. More than 100 aftershocks were recorded following the quakes with officials urging people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks.
UN chief Antonio Guterres is calling on the international community to provide more money for Turkey and Syria and widen access for aid to reach the earthquake-stricken parts of Syria.
Guterres was speaking hours after the first UN aid convoy crossed into Syria from Turkey.
“More help is on the way, but much more – much more – is needed,” the secretary general said.
He said the UN would launch an international appeal next week for funding for the effort.
“People are facing nightmare on top of nightmare,” Guterres added.
People living in northwest Syria had already endured 12 years of civil war when the earthquake struck, with humanitarian aid delivered through only a single crossing from Turkey amid opposition from Russia, the main ally of the Syrian government, which wants aid to come through Damascus.
Syria is under international sanctions but Guterres stressed they did not affect humanitarian assistance.
“No sanctions of any kind interfere with relief to the population of Syria in the present,” he said.
