Guwahati: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake that slammed Turkey and Syria on Monday has left nearly 4,900 people dead and tens of thousands injured, according to officials.
At least 3,381 people had died in Turkey as of Tuesday morning at 9:45 a.m. local time, according to Orhan Tatar, a representative of the nation’s emergency management organisation.
According to Tatar, at least 20,426 injuries have also been reported.
According to officials, the death toll in Syria has increased to 1,509 throughout areas that are under both government and rebel control, according to CNN.
According to officials, at least 3,548 injuries have been reported throughout Syria.
According to Tatar, 11,000 structures have reportedly been destroyed in Turkey thus far. According to CNN, he noted that there are close to 25,000 emergency personnel working at the affected scenes.
At least 10 ships and 54 planes are being used by rescuers to carry the injured and aid in search activities, he said.
As the entire scope of the calamity becomes evident, the world community has been eager to give assistance to Turkey and Syria, according to CNN.
According to Syrian state media SANA, planes carrying food, medication, and blankets from Iraq and Iran arrived at Damascus International Airport on Tuesday morning.
The first of two disaster relief teams carrying dog squads and medical supplies left India for Turkey on Monday night after Japan made the announcement that it will send the nation’s disaster relief rescue team to Turkey.
While Australia and New Zealand pledged funding for humanitarian aid, Pakistan also sent two search and rescue teams to the devastated nation.
The United States announced it will send two search and rescue units to Turkey, while the European Union launched its crisis response mechanism.
According to CNN, Palestinian civil defence and medical teams would also travel to Turkey and Syria to assist with rescue efforts.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 10 Russian army units totaling more than 300 personnel are cleaning debris and assisting in search and rescue efforts in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long been an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, making Russia the most powerful foreign power present in Syria.
Emergency response teams from the WHO’s Emergency Medical Teams (EMT), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) have been mobilised to Turkey to help with the humanitarian response, according to UNOCHA.
El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Syria, told CNN that a shortage of heavy machinery and other resources was impeding the search and rescue effort.
He claimed that after the UN’s stock was delivered, more medical supplies, particularly freshwater, and tools to fix water tank damage, were required.
“Around 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war. Everyone is overstretched in that part of the world … there is an enormous amount do.
People have fled their homes often standing around in bitterly cold conditions really without access to safe water. So water is key. Blankets, food, psychological support,” according to James Elder, spokesman for UNICEF.
As victims seek assistance, hospitals around the nation are overburdened, and some institutions have been harmed by the earthquake. According to CNN, there is a particular worry about the spread of disease, especially among youngsters who were already experiencing tremendous hardship.
“This winter had been particularly tough due to the freezing conditions and a cholera outbreak,” Elder said.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that slammed southern Turkey early on Monday was the nation’s most powerful earthquake in more than 80 years, according to the United Nations.
According to a situational report issued on Monday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), “this is Turkiye’s most violent earthquake recorded since 1939.”
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked southern Turkey on Monday morning local time has been followed by at least 100 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or more, according to the United States Geological Survey.
On Monday, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 centered in the Pazarcik district jolted Kahramanmaras and hit several provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis as per the Anadolu Agency report.
Later in the day, an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude centred in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district jolted the region. The earthquake was also felt in several neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Syria.
The third earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale hit Goksun, Turkey on Monday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.