Summary


In Turkey's Hatay, it is approximately 9:00 a.m. Here is the current situation in light of the devastating earthquakes that occurred in Turkey and Syria if you are just joining us.


After one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the region in at least a century left more than 4,800 people dead, hundreds injured, and an unknown number trapped in the rubble, international rescue operations swarmed to Turkey and Syria. Numerous aftershocks from the early-morning earthquake and the collapse of entire apartment buildings in Turkey added to the devastation inflicted on Syrian villages already devastated by more than ten years of war.


The first earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, occurred while people were asleep and was among the strongest to hit the area in at least a century. As far away as Cairo and Cyprus, it was felt. The second significant earthquake, which measured 7.7 magnitude and was centered 67 kilometers (42 miles) north-east of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, was reported by the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) as occurring at a depth of 2 kilometers.


Across 10 provinces, more than 7,800 individuals have been saved, according to Orhan Tatar, a representative of Turkey's emergency management organization.


According to the governor of Istanbul, quoted by the news outlet Sabah, as of 6 am, 13,000 rescue workers, many of them volunteers, had departed Istanbul to assist in affected areas. Many have headed for Hatay, where there is reportedly rising resentment over the lack of aid for those trapped under the wreckage, according to sources.


'Hundreds of families' are still buried under the rubble, according to the Syrian opposition. After this week's terrible earthquake, hundreds of families are still buried beneath the rubble of demolished buildings, the leader of the Syrian opposition-run civil defense organization warned on Tuesday.


More than 17,000 people were killed in a similar-sized earthquake that struck the densely populated eastern Marmara Sea region close to Istanbul in 1999.


According to Catherine Smallwood, the top emergency officer for Europe at the World Health Organization, the death toll might reach more than 20,000. When the projected death toll reached 2,600, she told AFP, "There's continued possibility for other collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eightfold increases on the original estimates." Unfortunately, we always observe the same pattern after earthquakes: the first reports of the number of people killed or injured will rise considerably in the week that follows.


Joe Biden called with Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the Turkish president, on Monday to express condolences and reiterate Washington's preparedness to support rescue efforts, according to the White House. According to a statement from the White House, the US president "noted that US teams are deploying fast to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and organize additional assistance that may be necessary by people affected by the earthquakes, like health services or basic relief supplies."