The death toll from the powerful earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday morning continues to rise. Wintry conditions in the region added to the challenge as rescue crews attempted to reach victims buried under rubble through the night. The quake, with an epicenter in Kahramanmaraş province, has also affected Kilis, Diyarbakir, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Malatya, and Hatay provinces.
The current death toll from the disaster stands at over 5,000, of which 3,381 are in Turkey, according to the Anadolu Agency. 20,426 have currently been reported as injured. 5,775 buildings in Turkey have been confirmed to have collapsed. The World Health Organization, however, has warned that the death toll may surge to over 20,000. A similarly strong earthquake in August 1999 in Turkey’s Marmara region killed some 17,000.
President Joe Biden spoke Monday evening with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the phone, promising US support and saying US teams had been deployed to assist in rescue efforts. White House Communications Coordinator John Kirby detailed the assistance that will be sent in the following announcement: “We are in the process of deploying additional teams, including two 79-person urban search and rescue teams, to support Turkey’s search and rescue efforts.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also extended his condolences, saying “We are committed to doing everything we can to help those affected by these earthquakes in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
Following the quake, a meeting was organized by European Union member states to assist in relief efforts. Janez Lenarcic, the EU commissioner for disaster management and humanitarian aid, announced the countries that would be dispatching rescue teams to Turkey: the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Czech Republic, France, Italy, and Hungary. Following the quake, the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated, which provides services that aid in rescue efforts such as mapping.
The original earthquake, which took place at 4:17 am on Monday morning (February 6), was measured with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw. This was followed several hours later at 1:24 pm by a second shock measuring 7.5. On Tuesday morning, another quake measuring 5.6 was reported in central Turkey, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center.
Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, England, Germany, Spain, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Poland, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Vatican have also thus far sent equipment, rescue crews, or provided financial support to rescue efforts.
Click here to read survivor accounts from the earthquake from Monday afternoon (February 6).
