Turkey, Syria earthquake highlights: Death toll surpasses 7,000-mark amid search for more survivors

War-ravaged Syria is calling on the United Nations and all member states to help with rescue efforts, health services, shelter and food aid following a massive earthquake that killed thousands in Syria and Turkey.

A large fire that broke out at a section of a port in an earthquake-stricken city in southeast Turkey is raging for a second day.

Television images Tuesday showed thick black smoke rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the city of Iskenderun. Reports said the fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey on Monday.

Strained medical centers quickly filled with injured people, rescue workers said. Some facilities had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.

In disasters like the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and 7.5-magnitude aftershock that struck Syria and Turkey on February 6, 2023, international cooperation on satellite imaging plays a crucial role in the rescue and recovery efforts.

Such data enables humanitarian aid to better deliver water and food by mapping the condition of roads, bridges, buildings, and – most crucially – identifying populations trying to escape potential aftershocks by gathering in stadiums or other open spaces.

The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders says a staff member has been found dead under the rubble of his house in Syria’s Idlib province following the powerful earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.

At least four Turkish airports were damaged, said authorities, who were tracking calls for help on social media from people who were believed to be trapped under the rubble. More than 6,200 buildings have collapsed in Turkey, authorities said.

India has dispatched the first batch of relief material to Turkey aboard an Indian Air Force aircraft even as rescuers searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 3,800 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region. Read more

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called the quake a historic disaster and said authorities were doing all they could.

"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult," he said. He said 45 countries had offered to help the search and rescue efforts.

Nearly 8,000 people have been rescued from 4,758 buildings destroyed in the tremors a day earlier, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said in its latest statement.

China will give a first tranche of 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) in emergency aid to help Turkey's relief efforts after this week's major earthquake, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.

China's Red Cross will give emergency aid of $200,000 each to Turkey and Syria, it added.

The earthquake was powerful — especially for a quake that hit on land. Typically, very strong earthquakes occur underwater, Margarita Segou, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said.

On top of that, the quake hit near heavily populated areas. The epicenter was near Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in Turkey.

The affected regions were also home to vulnerable buildings, experts have said. 

In announcing the plan Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol described Turkey as a “brother nation” that sent troops to fight alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. Turkey lost more than 700 of its forces in action.

The quake occurred in a seismically active area known as the East Anatolian fault zone, which has produced damaging earthquakes in the past.

Turkey was struck by another major earthquake in January 2020 — a magnitude 6.7 that caused significant damage in the eastern part of the country. In 1999, a 7.4 magnitude quake struck near Istanbul and killed an estimated 18,000 people.

Researchers said the earthquake was a strike-slip quake, where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally. The Earth is divided up into different pieces, “kind of like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Eric Sandvol, a seismologist at the University of Missouri.

Those pieces meet at fault lines, where the plates usually grind against each other slowly. But once enough tension builds up, they can snap past each other quickly, releasing a large amount of energy. In this case, one plate moved west while the other moved east — jerking past each other to create the quake, Hatem said.

Over time, aftershocks will start to die down and become less frequent, Sandvol said.

New Zealand is providing $632,000 to the Turkish Red Crescent and $316,000 to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to deliver items such as food, tents and blankets, as well as provide medical assistance and psychological support.

According to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, who spoke during a news conference from Hatay Emergency Coordination Center, the weather and the scale of the disaster are creating challenges for aid teams.

"The weather conditions and the scale of the disaster make it hard for our teams to reach the region," Koca said, adding "our helicopters could not take off today due to weather conditions."

Officials and agencies confirmed that at least 4,372 deaths have been confirmed in Turkey and Syria and according to the World Health Organisaton (WHO) the toll could surpass 20,000.

Turkey's toll rose to 2,921 as of Tuesday morning, according to Yunus Sezer, Turkey's head of disaster services.

A total of 15,834 injuries have been reported, Sezer said in a news conference in Ankara.

In Syria, 1,451 deaths and 3,531 injuries have been reported by officials, reported CNN.

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes central turkey region, Reuters reports

Britain is sending 76 search-and-rescue specialists with equipment and dogs, as well as an emergency medical team, to Turkey. The UK also says it’s in contact with the UN about getting support to victims in Syria.

Russian rescue teams from the Emergencies Ministry are preparing to fly to Syria, where Russian military deployed in that country already has sent 10 units comprising 300 people to help clear debris and search for survivors. The Russian military has set up points to distribute humanitarian assistance. Russia also has offered help to Turkey, which has been accepted.

Turkish and Syrian disaster response teams report more than 5,600 buildings have been flattened across several cities, including many multi-storey apartment blocks that were filled with sleeping residents when the first quake struck.

The death toll in Turkey from a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rose to 2,921, the country's relief agency AFAD announced Tuesday.

The new count brings the confirmed death toll in Turkey and neighbouring Syria to 4,365, after a quake considered to be the strongest to hit the region in nearly a century.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said such a disaster could hit “once in a hundred years” and that his country should be prepared for the death toll to rise.

Oktay also said some 145 aftershocks have been registered following the deadly quake overnight, with three that were larger than 6.0 magnitude.

Diplomats from the 193 member countries of the United Nations have stood in silent tribute to victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi on Monday extended “our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences” to the government and people of both countries.

He then asked diplomats “to stand and observe a minute of silence in tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives.” Kőrösi spoke at the start of a meeting to hear Secretary-General Antonio Guterres outline his priorities for 2023.