Turkey-Syria earthquake Updates: Nine days later, the official death toll in one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of humanity stands at more than 40,000. Even with the rescue window almost closing, hope persisted after a woman was rescued over 200 hours in Turkey’s Kathramanmaras and two others in Hatay province following the disaster.
In a televised speech, Turkish President Erdogan acknowledged the issues that arose during the initial response to the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, Reuters reported. He noted that the situation was now under control.
Here are the other top updates from Turkey and Syria post-earthquake
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, will be travelling to Turkey on Sunday to discuss the aid that the US can provide to the country following the earthquake. This will be Blinken’s first visit to Turkey.
Over a week after the powerful earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, the search for survivors continues. Teams are still working to pull people out of the rubble. This is a hopeful sign that more people are still alive.
The UN Secretary-General launched a major appeal on Tuesday to help the nearly 5 million people who were affected by last week’s earthquake in northwest Syria. The lack of humanitarian assistance in the region has been exacerbated by the 12-year war.
Anger and resentment are growing over the slow delivery of humanitarian assistance in northwest Syria which the World Health Organization says is the “zone of greatest concern”. According to Raed al Saleh, the head of a rescue group in the northwest of Syria known as the White Helmets, the search for survivors was about to end. Russia, on the other hand, said that it was wrapping up its rescue operations in both Syria and Turkey.
A team from the Indian Army, which is part of the UN Disengagement Observer Force, delivered relief supplies to Aleppo, Syria. They were able to receive assistance from the government and the international community.
More and more earthquake-hit survivors are affected by a shortage of clean water and toilets that international health bodies say poses a risk to public health.