Foreign countries|Natural disasters
The number of victims has increased throughout Monday and Tuesday and is predicted to increase even further. Rescue work has been hampered by, among other things, destroyed infrastructure and weather conditions.
Early on Monday morning, a strong earthquake occurred in southeastern Turkey. The magnitude of the earthquake was said to be 7.8, and thousands of buildings have collapsed both in Turkey and Syria because of it. On Monday, another earthquake was also detected, the magnitude of which was said to be 7.6.
By early Tuesday morning, the death toll from the earthquakes had already risen to more than 4,300 dead. According to official data, there were at least more than 2,900 dead in Turkey and more than 1,400 in Syria. The number of victims is predicted to rise.
More than 13,000 were injured in Turkey and around 1,500 in Syria.
Read more: Here’s how you can help those affected by the earthquake
Broadcasting company for the BBC according to the experts who spoke, the next 24 hours are vital for finding survivors. After two days, the number of survivors drops considerably. According to the news agency AFP, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the number of victims could increase up to eight times.
“Unfortunately, we always see with earthquakes that the data on the number of dead and injured grow rapidly within a week,” WHO representative Catherine Smallwood said.
Rescue work has been slowed down by, among other things, the extensive damage to roads and other infrastructure, which has also slowed down helping survivors who lost their homes, among other things. According to the news agency AP, tens of thousands of people spent the night in the cold weather and sought shelter in mosques and shopping malls.
At least the timing of the earthquake has increased the number of victims, because it happened in the morning when people were sleeping. In addition, the weak building stock has in many places increased the number of collapsed buildings.
A BBC journalist describes how people did not dare to return to their homes in Osmaniye, Turkey, early on Tuesday night. Rescue work in the city is also hampered by heavy rain.
Relief supplies organized by the Red Crescent were loaded onto a plane at an air base near Baghdad on Monday.
Several countries, including Finland, have announced that they are preparing to send aid to Turkey. According to the Ministry of the Interior, Finland is sending expert help to Turkey, which will support rescue work and assistance tasks. The experts are sent through the EU civil protection mechanism.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, Finland is also investigating the sending of other aid, such as possible material aid, to Turkey and Syria.
Read more: Finland is sending experts to Turkey, the sending of material aid is also being mapped
Ukraine is also the foreign minister Dmytro Kuleban ready to send dozens of rescue workers to Turkey.
In addition, the military alliance NATO is the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ready to mobilize aid to Turkey.
of the UN of the Secretary General by António Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said for his part that the UN is trying to help refugees in northwestern Syria, for example. There are approximately 2.7 million Syrian refugees in the region.
It makes it difficult for aid destined for Syria to get there The Washington Post – newspaper, however, the civil war still going on in the country. Because of the war, many Western countries have weak or non-existent diplomatic relations with the president Bashar al-Assad to the administration.
Read more: The earthquake hit a politically complex area, which makes aid work difficult – “There is an active conflict and many different actors”
On the other hand, China, Iran, Iraq, Russia and Israel have announced their readiness to send aid to Syria.
Sources of the news agency AFP said that a riot took place in a prison in northwestern Syria after the earthquakes. Among other things, at least 20 prisoners, who are suspected of belonging to the ISIS terrorist organization, escaped from the prison containing fighters of extremist Islamist organizations.
A seven-day period of mourning has been declared in Turkey due to the earthquake. In addition, according to the CNN Türk television channel, all schools are closed until February 13.
Read more: Media information: Top soccer player Christian Atsu missing after Turkey earthquakes
Read more: More than 3,000 people have already died in two earthquakes
Read more: Esa Kiuttu, who was vacationing in Alanya, woke up to the earthquake: “He did notice that now something more is going on”
Read more: Videos and pictures show the enormous destruction caused by earthquakes
Read more: Turkey is located at the junction of the continental plates – Timeline and graphics show the history of earthquakes
Read more: Earthquakes in Turkey were measured as far as Finland
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