Turkey-Syria quake death toll tops 7,800

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for three months across ten provinces ravaged by the earthquakes which killed thousands of people in the country. In a televised address, the Turkish President on Tuesday said, a state of emergency is being declared to ensure that the rescue and recovery work can be carried out quickly. President Erdogan said, they are declaring ten cities impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Southern Turkiye as a disaster zone. Noting that 70 countries offered help in search and rescue operations, Erdogan announced that the government planned to open up hotels in Antalya to temporarily house people affected by the earthquakes. According to the Turkish authorities, around one crore 35 lakh people were affected in the quake-hit area which spanned 450 kilometres from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east and from Malatya in the north to Hatay in the south.

Devastated  earthquakes killed more than 7,800 people and left a trail of destruction across a wide area of southern Turkey and neighbouring Syria. Thousands of buildings were toppled, hospitals and schools wrecked and tens of thousands of people were injured or left homeless in several Turkish and Syrian cities by the magnitude 7.8 quake - the deadliest in Turkey since 1999. Bitter winter weather hampered rescue efforts and the delivery of aid, and made the plight of the homeless even more miserable. Some areas were without fuel and electricity.

Port of Iskenderun continues to burn with massive flames #Turkey pic.twitter.com/fDIa3qUZ2z

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) February 7, 2023

Syrian state news agency SANA said at least 812 people were killed and 1,449 people injured in the government-held provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Tartous. At least 900 people were killed in Syria's opposition-held northwest and 2,300 injured with the toll expected to rise further. A UN humanitarian official in Syria said fuel shortages and the harsh weather were creating obstacles.