Prayers for Turkey and Syria! The latest update, as of Thursday (9/2), the death toll as a result of the terrible earthquake in the two countries reached 15,383 people. The number of victims of the 7.9 M earthquake could still increase.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said the death toll in Turkey jumped by more than 3,000 in a matter of hours and now stands at 12,391.
Meanwhile, the total number of deaths in Syria is at least 2,992, including 1,730 in rebel-held areas in the northwest as well as an additional 1,262 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria.
Regarding the heavy casualties, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged there were “shortcomings” after facing some criticism over his government’s response to the quake.
As the criticism continued to mount, Erdogan visited one of the hardest-hit sites, the Kahramanmaras epicenter, and acknowledged there were problems in his response.
“Of course there are flaws. The conditions are obvious. It’s impossible to be prepared for a disaster like this,” he said.
The wide scale of the disaster which leveled thousands of buildings, trapping an unknown number of people, has boosted relief operations already hampered by the cold.
It is reported that survivors were left scrambling for food and shelter, and in some cases watched helplessly as their relatives called for help, eventually falling silent under the rubble.
As previously reported, a powerful 7.9 M earthquake shook Turkey and Syria on Monday (6/2). The death toll is reported to be increasing.
The earthquake had its epicenter in Kahramanmaras Province, approximately 600 km southeast of Ankara. Then, there were two aftershocks measuring M6.4 and M6.5 in Gaziantep Province, located 700 km southeast of Ankara.
The biggest aftershock was recorded at 13.24 local time with a magnitude of around M7.5.
This great earthquake was touted as the worst earthquake to hit the country since 1939. It is estimated that the number of victims will increase because thousands of buildings have collapsed, and there are still many missing people who have not been found.