As they work against the clock to locate survivors of a deadly earthquake in southeast Turkey, rescuers are battling torrential rain and snow. In Turkey and Syria across the border, more than 4,300 people were killed and 15,000 injured when the earthquake hit early on Monday.
The World Health Organization has issued a warning that the death toll may sharply increase as rescuers discover additional fatalities. Rescue personnel is intensifying their hunt for survivors as daybreak approaches. Many residents of the disaster area have been too terrified to enter structures again.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred on Monday at 04:17 (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) close to the city of Gaziantep.
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It was one of the most significant earthquakes ever recorded in Turkey, where at least 2,921 people are now confirmed to have perished, according to seismologists. According to survivors, the shaking didn’t stop for two minutes.
Later, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in the Elbistan region of the Kahramanmaras province occurred. Currently, it is known that at least 1,400 people have died in Syria, where millions of refugees are housed in camps along the Turkish border.
According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 45 countries have given assistance in response to a global request for service.
Many of the disaster-affected households, according to UN Secretary General António Guterres, “are already in grave need of humanitarian relief in locations where access is a difficulty.” Guterres urged for an international response.
While search and rescue teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already en route to Turkey, the European Union is sending crews to that country. The UK has announced that it will deploy 76 experts, tools, and rescue dogs.
The US, Israel, France, Germany, and Germany have all promised support. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has pledged assistance to Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Turkey is located in one of the seismically active regions of the planet.
This earthquake was powerful enough to be felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel.
