News sources, including the AP report, put the death toll from strong earthquakes in Turkey and Syria yesterday to over 7,200.
The Minister of Health announced that the death toll in Turkey rose to 5,434. According to rescuers and officials, more than 1,800 people have been killed in Syria so far.
At least 812 people were killed and 1,449 injured in government-controlled Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Tartus, according to the state news agency SANA. More than 1,020 people have been killed so far in the northwest of the country, where the government is not in power, according to the White Helmets charity. The charity assumes the numbers will “increase significantly”.
race against time
In an area where it snows and temperatures regularly drop below freezing, it’s a race against time to rescue the survivors from under the rubble. According to Turkish Vice President Oktay, more than 8,000 people have been rescued alive so far. He said about 380,000 people in Turkey had fled to government-designated shelters and hotels.
In the disaster area, a group of about 3,400 people found temporary shelter in government-provided railroad cars:
Help is offered from all over the world. For example, there is a Dutch search and rescue team in the Hatay region of Turkey. This team consists of 65 people and eight rescue dogs, with about 15 tons of equipment, such as infrared cameras, to search for victims.
Japan and Russia are also sending rescue teams, among others. The United Arab Emirates pledged €93 million in financial aid to Turkey and Syria, while Australia and New Zealand, among others, pledged financial support. According to the news of the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, Qatar is sending 10,000 container homes to disaster areas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 23 million people in Syria and Turkey were affected by the earthquakes and aftershocks that occurred yesterday and today. According to the organization, 1.4 million of these people are children.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
