Death toll in Turkey, Syria earthquake exceeds 41,000

Ankara/Damascus: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his determination to continue rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the earthquake-affected areas, while the total number of deaths as a result of the natural disaster has exceeded 41,000. According to the report of the foreign news agency, as a result of the devastating earthquake, the death toll in Syria and Turkey has exceeded 41 thousand and the survivors are struggling with severe cold weather in the midst of lack of services.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting at the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (FAD) headquarters, the Turkish president said, “We will continue our work until the last citizen is evacuated from the collapsed buildings.” He said that the assessment of the damage to the buildings would be completed in a week while the reconstruction work would be started in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the Turkish president said that we will rebuild all houses, workplaces destroyed or unusable as a result of the earthquake and hand them over to their rightful owners. He said that as a result of this natural disaster, more than 150,000 people have been injured, of which 13,000 are still undergoing treatment in hospitals.

Although the hope of survival of the people buried under the rubble is fading, still the miraculous rescue of people continues and on Tuesday, 10 people were pulled alive from the rubble of the destroyed buildings. The Turkish president acknowledged problems in the initial response to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, but said the situation was now under control. He said that we are facing one of the worst natural disasters not only in our country but also in human history.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that 2.2 million people have been displaced from the severely affected areas and buildings have become uninhabitable. UN officials said the rescue phase was nearing its end and the focus would now be on shelter, food and schooling.

Syrian refugee Hassan Saimoa, who lives with his family in a playground in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, Turkey, said, “People are facing a lot of problems. We tried to get a tent, aid and some things, but We got nothing’. Other Syrian refugees displaced by the earthquake, including Hasan, who came to the Turkish city of Gazi Antip to seek refuge from the ongoing war in their country, have built temporary tents with the help of plastic sheets, blankets and cardboard.

“The needs are enormous and growing by the minute, with 26 million people in both countries in need of assistance,” said World Health Organization Europe Director Henry P. Lewg. In addition, health problems and epidemics caused by extreme cold, sanitation and drainage are also raising concerns, with the vulnerable most at risk.

Families in affected areas of Turkey and Syria say their children are suffering psychological effects after the earthquake. Hassan Muaz said about his 9-year-old son that whenever he forgets the earthquake, he remembers it again after hearing a loud sound, even while sleeping, if any sound reaches his ears, he sits up and says It says ‘Abu, the aftershock has arrived’.

The first aid convoy from the United Nations arrived in the rebel-held area of ​​northwestern Syria via the newly opened Bab al-Salam crossing from Turkey. Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets, an aid organization working in Syria, said that the search for survivors in western Syria is about to end.

The Turkish president said that as a result of the earthquake, the number of deaths in Turkey has reached 35 thousand 418, while according to the United Nations organization and the Syrian official media, 5 thousand 814 deaths have been confirmed there. Survivors have largely fled their homes in the affected areas.