February 7, 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake news

Our live coverage of the quake and rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria has moved here.

Heartbreaking photos show a father in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, clutching the lifeless hand of his daughter after she was crushed under concrete in Monday’s devastating earthquake.

Mesut Hancer, sitting hunched amid the ruins, can be seen holding onto his 15-year-old child while her body remains trapped beneath the rubble.

Broken glass, destroyed furniture and twisted steel surround the family, as workers conduct a colossal rescue mission in near freezing temperatures.

Nearly 8,000 people have now been confirmed dead and some 40,000 others injured following Monday’s quake, according to officials in Turkey and Syria.

Survivors are still being pulled from the rubble more than 48 hours after the quake hit, crushing thousands under their homes.

The rescue of a 14-year-old boy in Kahramanmaras broadcast live on air on Tuesday offered a glimmer of hope that others will survive, but the death toll continues to climb as search teams navigate blocked roads, collapsed infrastructure and violent aftershocks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month long state of emergency in 10 provinces as rescuers race against time in Turkey and Syria following Monday’s devastating earthquake.

As support arrives from around the world, the scale of the humanitarian crisis is becoming clearer and aid agencies are warning of the difficulties in both reaching survivors and treating the injured.

Here’s the latest:

NATO flags flew at half-staff at the defense alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, following the deadly earthquake in Turkey.

In a Twitter post, the 30-member alliance — of which Turkey is a member — outlined its contributions to relief efforts.

 “Over 1,400 emergency response personnel from more than twenty #NATO Allies and partners – including invitees Finland and Sweden – are deploying to Türkiye , helping to respond to the devastating earthquakes which struck the country,” the post said.  

NATO and its partners are providing assistance to Turkey through seismic experts, search and rescue teams with dogs, freighters, structural engineers, and medical personnel and supplies, according to a NATO news release.  

“At this terrible time, we stand in solidarity with our Ally Türkiye and with all those affected, and NATO Allies stand ready to provide further assistance to those in need,” NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.  

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday has risen to at least 7,926 people, according to officials.

The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the “White Helmets,” said on Tuesday that the number of fatalities in rebel-held areas in northwest Syria rose to 1,220 and the number of injured people rose to 2,600.

Those figures are “expected to rise significantly due to the presence of hundreds of families under the rubble,” the group added.

“Our teams continue search and rescue operations amid difficult circumstances,” it said, describing a tally of more than 400 collapsed buildings, more than 1,300 partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that were damaged by the early morning quake.

At least 812 deaths have been confirmed in government-controlled parts of Syria, state media SANA reported.

In Turkey, at least 5,894 people are dead and 34,810 injured, Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday.

Mexico’s famous rescue dogs are headed to Turkey following the catastrophic earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday.   

Mexico is famous for its highly trained and specialized search and rescue dogs. The canines are used frequently in Mexico, a country prone to earthquakes due to its location at the edge of the North American tectonic plate.   

Julia, Ecko, Orly, Timba, Rex and July are among the 16 dogs who took off Tuesday morning from Mexico City and headed toward Turkey.  

“The heart of our rescue team is currently flying to Turkey,” Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard tweeted on Tuesday.  

Under the instructions of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a specialized inter-institutional urban search and rescue team made up of 150 people, which includes USAR-accredited personnel from the Ministries of Defense, Navy, and the Mexican Red Cross were dispatched Tuesday, according to a press release from Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.  

“The team includes medical and food service cells, 35 search and rescue experts from the Mexican Army Immediate Emergency Response Team (ERIED) (25 specialists and 10 canine teams), 37 members of the Navy (35 USAR and 2 canine teams), five Foreign Ministry officials and 15 members of the Red Cross,” the release said.  

The team of dogs will land in Adana, a major southern city near the epicenter of the earthquake, according to the statement.  

Read more here.

The United Nations says nearly 70% of Syria’s population was in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake — an issue that has only been compounded by the tragedy.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Syria and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis said:

The statement outlined the impact of Syria’s 12-year war, describing a country as “grappling with economic collapse and severe water, electricity, and fuel shortages.” The pair issued an appeal to all donor partners to “provide the assistance necessary to alleviate suffering.”

The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing on immediate needs, including food, shelter, non-food items and medicine.

In Syria, at least 1,832 people have died and another 3,849 people have been injured as a result of a devastating earthquake that hit Monday.

The clock is ticking and cold temperatures have set in as rescue teams search for survivors from Monday’s earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

Avril Benoît, executive director of Doctors Without Borders, said search and rescue is the most urgent need on the ground right now. Around 500 staffers with the humanitarian medical organization are working in the Syrian region — some of whom have family members who were lost in the earthquake, she said.

“The ideal window is to be able to bring people out within 48 hours,” Benoît told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday. “It’s highly risky and the likelihood of finding people alive diminishes and then from there, you’ve got people with catastrophic injuries. We’ve seen time and again with earthquakes that that is not only a need for trauma care, but then it’s infection control, it’s management of their postoperative care, rehabilitation, reconstruction of the hospitals themselves.”

She said babies are still being born and Doctors Without Borders has had to redeploy staffers from other medical units to assist evacuated mothers and newborns.

“Sometimes you’re evacuating to facilities, other hospital structures that frankly don’t necessarily have the integrity – structurally – that you would want, ideally,” Benoît said.

Doctors Without Borders is working to provide “all the essentials” to those in need, according to Benoît.

Here are ways to help victims of the earthquake.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has risen to at least 7,726.

In an update Tuesday, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that at least 5,894 people are now dead and 34,810 injured in Turkey. In Syria, at least 1,832 deaths and 3,849 injuries have been reported.

At least 16,139 teams are working on search and rescue efforts, with additional international teams to be added, Oktay said.

Collapsed buildings, emergency vehicles and tent shelters can be seen in new satellite imagery of earthquake-hit towns in Turkey, revealing the damage from Monday’s devastating earthquake.

The images, captured by Maxar Technologies, show the towns of Islahiye and Nurdagi.

In Islahiye, dozens of buildings across the city have collapsed. In the city center, a group of residential buildings just west of the Hacı Ali Öztürk mosque appear flattened.

To view more, click here

The road leading to the only humanitarian aid border crossing between Turkey and Syria has been damaged by Monday’s earthquake, hampering relief efforts, the United Nations said Tuesday.  

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, said at a briefing the crossing is “actually intact” and continues to be used as a trans-shipment hub. However, he said the road leading to the crossing has been damaged and that’s “temporarily disrupted our ability to fully use it.”

The Bab al-Hawa is the only humanitarian aid corridor approved by the UN between Syria and Turkey.  

In January, Guterres described the land crossing as an “indispensable lifeline” after the UN Security Council voted to renew the cross-border mechanism a day before it was set to expire. 

When the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey, its impact could be felt as far as Israel and Lebanon — hundreds of kilometers away.

The power of an earthquake is known as magnitude. On the magnitude scale, each increase of one whole number translates to 32 times more energy.

Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes. Seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck the country in the past 25 years – but Monday’s was one of the most powerful.

Here’s how strong Turkey’s quakes have been in more than 80 years:

German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom is making all phone calls and text messages from its network between Germany, Turkey and Syria free of charge until Feb. 15.  

The move aims to help the families of those impacted by Monday’s earthquake to stay in touch, as well as support ongoing search and rescue efforts on the ground, the company said in a statement Tuesday.   

The CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Tim Höttges, said in the statement that the company is “responding to the helplessness of so many of those affected not only with sympathy, but with concrete help.” 

He added that many Deutsche Telekom employees have relatives in Turkey or Syria.  

The company said it is donating 1 million euros (around $1.067 million) to an alliance of German aid agencies involved in relief operations after the earthquake.  

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, Germany hosts the third largest refugee population in the world, half of whom are from Syria. The country is also a home to the world’s largest Turkish diaspora.

The situation on the ground following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday is “more disastrous” in Syria, according to the country director in Gaziantep, Turkey, for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation (SAMS).

“It’s a disastrous situation both in Turkey and Syria – although in Syria it’s more disastrous,” Dr. Bachir Tajaldin told CNN on Tuesday. 

Over a decade of conflict in northern Syria has fostered “a poor economic situation” making it very difficult to respond to the current crisis, according to Tajaldin.
In contrast, “the situation in Turkey is coordinated through a very well-settled government,” he explained, adding that in northern Syria “most of the services are provided by NGOs” due to a lack of long-term investments in early-recovery and infrastructure.

Remember: Northwestern Syria, which has been impacted by the earthquake, has been struggling since the country’s civil war. Several parts, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

Turkey and Syria are reeling as the death toll continues to climb after Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake, with more than 7,000 people already reported dead across the two countries.

In comparison with other large earthquakes around the world, the 2011 Japan quake and tsunami – in which more than 22,000 people were killed or went missing – registered a magnitude of 9.1.

That incident left widespread destruction in its wake after walls of water engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways and caused the country’s worst nuclear disaster on record.

A year before, in 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti is estimated to have killed between 220,000 to 300,000. A further 300,000 people were injured, and millions were displaced.

In 2004, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 9.1 struck the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that left 227,898 people dead or listed as missing and presumed dead.

The strongest earthquake on record was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes, as it is situated along tectonic plate boundaries.

CNN’s meteorologist and severe weather expert Chad Myers said, “we always talk about the epicenter, but in this case we should talk about the epi-line.”

Two massive tectonic plates – the Arabian and the Eurasian – meet underneath Turkey’s southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, “about 100 miles from one side to the other, the earth slipped,” Myers continued.

Seismologists refer to this event as a “strike slip” – “where the plates are touching, and all of a sudden they slide sideways,” Myers said.

In a “strike slip,” the plates move horizontally, rather than vertically. “Why that matters is because the buildings don’t want to go back and forth. And then the secondary waves begin to go back and forth as well,” Myers added.

Because of the nature of this seismic event, aftershocks could last “for weeks and months,” according to CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis.

One of Turkey’s more than 100 aftershocks, as recorded by US Geological Survey, measured at 7.5.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday that around 7,500 Turkish soldiers are working in the earthquake region to help with rescue operations.

Akar also said there will be 1,500 personnel addition to the team on Wednesday. He added that 75 military aircraft were sent to the region. 

A total of nine commando battalions arrived in the region from the west and four commando battalions from Cyprus will come to the region as well, Akar said.  

The US team that will provide assistance to Turkey after the earthquake is expected to arrive in Adana, Turkey, tomorrow morning local time, the team leader Stephen Allen told reporters on Tuesday.

United States Agency for International Development’s Disaster Assistance Recovery Team (USAID DART) includes two search and rescue teams from Los Angeles and Fairfax.

The focus right now is on “saving lives” Allen said. US teams will “still be useful” and make an impact on recovering lives, he said. There is no other search and rescue team in Adana at this time.

Each of the search and rescue teams will have about 80 people, rescue dogs and about 170,000 pounds of specialized tools and equipment. Specialized equipment includes hydraulic saws for concrete, torches, drills and advanced medical capabilities, Allen said. US military assets are being used to bring the teams into Turkey, he said.

The canine teams will be particularly useful because the dogs will help sniff out survivors instead of people blindly digging through the rubble, Allen said.

There are about 20 international government search and rescue teams on the ground right now, totaling about 2,000 people, Allen said. Those teams are working with Turkish teams, and Turkey is defining the next steps of support that are needed.

Allen would not project how long the search and rescue efforts would take.

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria is now at least 7,266.

Syria’s volunteer organization the White Helmets — also known as Syria Civil Defense — has updated the death toll in northwest Syria to 1,020 in opposition-held areas. As per Syrian state media, at least 812 people are dead in government-controlled areas. This brings Syria’s total death toll to at least 1,832. 

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a news conference on Tuesday that the death toll in Turkey is now 5,434. 

At least 31,777 people have been injured in Turkey, according to Koca.

In Syria at least 3,849 people have been injured with at least 1,449 in Syria’s government-controlled areas according to Syrian state media, and at least 2,400 in opposition-controlled northwest Syria according to the White Helmets.

At least 35,626 people have been injured across both countries.

A baby girl has been rescued from the rubble of her home in northern Syria following Monday’s massive earthquake.

Her umbilical cord was still attached to her mother when she was found, a relative told Agence France-Presse. Her mother is believed to have died after giving birth.

“We heard a voice while we were digging,” cousin Khalil al-Suwadi told the AFP on Tuesday. “We cleared the dust and found the baby with the umbilical cord (intact), so we cut it and my cousin took her to hospital.”

The girl is now receiving treatment at a children’s hospital in the town of Afrin. Pediatrician Hani Maarouf told the AFP that she is stable but arrived with bruises, lacerations and hypothermia.

The baby is the sole survivor of her immediate family, according to Suwadi. They lived in a five-story apartment building that was leveled by the quake.

Read more here.

Despite its tensions with Turkey, Greece is among the countries that have dispatched help to the country, but conflict-torn northwestern Syria makes the same efforts “more complicated,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN on Tuesday.

Greece and Turkey “are neighbors who need to help each other through difficult times. This is not the first time earthquakes have struck our countries,” he said. “This is a time to temporarily set aside our differences and try to address what is a very very urgent situation.”

In Syria, however, there is no official interlocutor and no assurance that aid will make it to the impacted area and people, and that makes relief efforts hard to pull off, Mitsotakis said.

“No country on its own has the ability to actually make these sorts of arrangements. That’s why I think it is important that these negotiations could take place either through the UN or through the European Union by pulling resources. I would not feel confident having these sort of discussions at a bilateral level,” he told CNN, adding that he has not directly communicated with Damascus.

Remember: Northwestern Syria, which has been impacted by the earthquake, has been struggling since the the country’s civil war. Currently, several parts of northwestern Syria, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

CNN has reached out to the Syrian foreign ministry about concerns over aid reaching affected areas in Syria.

Meanwhile, Bassam Sabbagh, Syria’s representative to the UN, said that access exists for countries. “So anyone who’d like to help Syria they can coordinate with the government and we will be ready to do so.”

Hospitals in earthquake-hit Syria are “absolutely overloaded,” UNICEF representative in Aleppo, Angela Kearney, told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane on Tuesday.

Kearney said hospitals are full of patients with trauma, broken bones and lacerations, and that some people are also going to the hospital to seek help for the mental trauma they endured when the quake struck.

While hospitals are functioning, the task has been overwhelming, Kearney said.

Describing the scene in Aleppo when the earthquake struck on Monday, Kearney said children who have already been traumatized by war were “bewildered. didn’t know what was happening.”

Kearney said that on Monday morning when UNICEF began its work in the area, there were seven schools in Aleppo city that were being used as shelters. By Tuesday morning, that grew to 67 schools, and currently, it is nearly 200.

“In all of those schools that are partially damaged, there are families there who left their apartments, left their houses with just their pajamas,” Kearny said adding that while aid is starting to go into the affected areas, there is still a need for blankets, food, clean water, medical care and nutritional care.

Kearny said water, sanitation and nutrition needs are the most urgent. “The aid is starting to go in but it is overwhelming; the needs are very great,” she said.

Kearney said that the Syrian government is also in Aleppo with authorities giving aid but that the needs are very great.

At least 5,775 buildings collapsed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 10 provinces in Turkey on Monday, according to Orhan Tatar, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency’s general director (AFAD). 

Tatar said, there are a total of 60,217 personnel who are helping with rescue operations in 10 provinces in Turkey.

At least four Ukrainian nationals were injured and 19 are missing following the earthquake in Turkey, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

“In total, diplomats have already found 38 [Ukrainian] citizens and are working with Turkish rescue services to find the other 19 Ukrainians who have not been in touch,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said. 

The four wounded Ukrainians suffered “minor injuries. Their lives are not in danger, and they do not need hospitalization,” Nikolenko said, adding that “the victims are provided with temporary housing and food.”

He added that the ministry is preparing to send Ukrainian consuls to the city of Gaziantep.

Canada says it is conferring with allies and trusted aid organizations as it considers how best to aid victims of the earthquake that has left thousands dead in Turkey in Syria, a process it says is complicated by a civil war in Syria and weather and logistics issues in Turkey.

Canada announced an initial $7.5 million in aid Tuesday and said it is considering matching private donations. And the Canadian government says it is still assessing both the initial and long-term needs in both Turkey and Syria.

“We have to conduct the assessments but figure out, you know, all that information has to be kind of worked out. Nothing’s off the table so we’ll look at any options,” said Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s minister for International Development, during a press briefing with reporters in Ottawa Tuesday.

Canada says it is considering sending search and rescue and medical teams in addition to possibly deploying the Canadian Armed Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team.

The Turkish port of Iskenderun remains closed following heavy damage from Monday’s earthquake and the subsequent fire which broke out amongst containers at the terminal yesterday evening, Danish container shipping firm Maersk said on Tuesday.

“The Port of Iskenderun remains closed until further notice, as teams look to repair the significant damage caused by the disaster and subsequent fire,” Maersk said in an updated statement Tuesday.

The company said that it is unclear when operations will resume and that it is looking to develop contingency plans, including diverting vessels.

“It’s not yet known how long recovery efforts will take and when the port can undergo a full inspection of the damage,” Maersk said.
“At this time, we are not accepting any new bookings to and from Iskenderun. Our teams are hard at work developing contingency plans involving nearby hubs and additional feeder vessels, with the aim of minimizing the overall impact on customers and their supply chains,” the container shipping giant added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the company said that the fire was yet to be fully under control by authorities.

Separately, Maersk told CNN that it has been working with the EU and other global partners since early Monday morning “to assess and provide the support needed in Turkey and Syria.”

At least 6,326 people across Turkey and Syria have been killed in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Monday.

The death toll climbed to 4,544 in Turkey on Tuesday where 10 provinces were impacted, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

The number of those killed in Syria is more than 1,782: More than 970 people have been killed in opposition-held areas, according to Syria’s White Helmets, which is also known as Syria Civil Defense. In government-controlled areas, the death toll is 812, according to the state news agency SANA.

At least 30,474 people have been injured in the two countries, according to figures from the Turkish government, the White Helmets, and Syrian state media.

The Virginia Task Force 1 is sending a crew of 79 members and six dogs to Turkey following the devastating earthquakes, the team tweeted on Monday.

The team will join 78 members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who plan to depart on Monday evening, the department said in a release.

Rescuers in Turkey and Syria are searching for survivors after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region on Monday, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring tens of thousands.

The region rocked by the powerful earthquake is overrun with ruins from collapsed buildings. Here are scenes from today’s aftermath. For more photos, go to our gallery.

At least 5,415 people across Turkey and Syria have been killed in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Monday.

In Turkey, the death toll is 3,703, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

The number of those killed in Syria is more than 1,712: More than 900 people have been killed in opposition-held areas, according to Syria’s White Helmets, which is also known as Syria Civil Defense. In government-controlled areas, the death toll is 812, according to the state news agency SANA.

More than 26,035 people have been injured according to figures from the Turkish government, the White Helmets and Syrian state media.

At least 125 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday morning local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The frequency and magnitude of the aftershocks are decreasing as is expected as we get further out in the time from the original earthquake. However, 5.0 to 6.0+ aftershocks are still possible and bring a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to rescue teams and survivors.

The aftershocks stretch for more than 400 kilometers (or about 250 miles) along the fault zone that ruptured in southern Turkey, oriented from southwest to northeast and stretching from the Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Syria up through the province of Malatya.

The death toll climbed to 3,703 in Turkey on Tuesday after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 10 provinces on Monday, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

In addition, there are now 22,286 injured people in Turkey, according to an AFAD statement.

Here are the other key details from the statement:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is warning of “catastrophic humanitarian needs” in both Syria and Turkey and appealing for critical funds and lifesaving support for those affected “before it is too late,” after the massive 7.8 magnitude quake that devastated the region, an IRC statement said Tuesday.

“With the response in its infancy the need for humanitarian aid is stark … Even before the earthquake, humanitarian access was constrained in northwest Syria, with most aid coming in via one crossing-point with Türkiye. In this time of increased need it is critical that the levels of aid crossing also increase at pace too,” IRC Syria Country Director Tanya Evans said in the statement.  

The IRC is also appealing to the international community to urgently increase funding to both Syria and Turkey to ensure that those affected will get the “lifesaving support they need before it is too late,” the IRC statement said.

The IRC is launching its earthquake response to both countries which will include provisions of cash, basic household items, dignity kits for women and girls and hygiene supplies.  

IRC will also support partners to provide essential health surfaces and safe spaces for women and children affected by this crisis.

There are discussions underway to open aid corridors from government-controlled parts of Syria to rebel-held areas following Monday’s powerful earthquake, Mohammad Hammoud, Syria country manager at the Norwegian Red Cross, told CNN on Tuesday.

Speaking to CNN’s Max Foster earlier today, Hammoud said he hopes that with the help and efforts from humanitarian communities, this would happen “in the coming days.”

When asked if the Syrian government in Damascus has been helpful to areas out of its control following the earthquake, Hammoud said: “They have stated that they are open to cross-line intervention, meaning from government-held areas to non-government-controlled areas.”

Earlier today, the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent – which describes itself as an independent and volunteer-based humanitarian organization – said that the organization is ready to “immediately” send aid convoys to rebel-held areas, including Idlib, through the United Nations. 

Hammoud added that the humanitarian situation is worsening. “We are in a race against time,” he said, speaking from Damascus.

Describing rescue and search operations, Hammoud said that due to the lack of machinery most of the work on clearing rubble is done by hand while the cold weather conditions are not helping.

“The buildings are already weakened because of eleven years of war,” Hammoud told CNN.

Countries, companies and non-profits are committing aid to the regions and people impacted by Monday’s powerful earthquake. Here’s what we know so far:

Ukraine will send 87 emergency rescue staff to Turkey to assist with relief efforts, following the deadly earthquake, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers announced on Tuesday. 

The 87 rescuers are part of a search and rescue detachment of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed condolences to the Turkish people on Tuesday in a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

“I expressed condolences over the tragedy that befell the 🇹🇷  [Turkish] people due to the earthquakes. I informed of the decision to send a group of rescuers and equipment from 🇺🇦 [Ukraine] to 🇹🇷 [Turkey] to help in overcoming the aftermath. They will soon arrive in 🇹🇷 ]Turkey’s] affected regions,” said Zelensky in a tweet about his conversation with Erdogan.

Meanwhile, in Kyiv, people placed flowers and candles at the Turkish Embassy on Tuesday to pay respects to the victims of the earthquake. 

UNESCO, the United Nation’s cultural organization, says it will provide assistance following cultural site damage in Turkey and Syria due to Monday’s powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

Following an initial survey of damages, UNESCO said that it is “particularly concerned about the situation in the ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.”

It added that significant damage has been noted in the citadel. 

“The western tower of the old city wall has collapsed and several buildings in the souks have been weakened,” UNESCO said.

In the Turkish city of Diyarbakır, the agency lamented the collapse of several buildings. The city is home to the World Heritage site Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape, which is “an important centre of the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods,” according to the UNESCO press release.

The organization says it is mobilizing experts to establish a precise inventory of the damage “with the aim of rapidly securing and stabilizing these sites.”

Mohammad Hammoud, Syria country manager at the Norwegian Red Cross, told “CNN This Morning” that rescue searches face an “urgent” scramble to find survivors and “provide them with life-saving aid.”

“The lack of machinery to move the collapsed buildings means that most of the work is done by hand. We are mainly reliant on manpower,” Hammoud said, speaking from Damascus.

Hammoud continued to explain the struggles that rescue operations face in Syria.

“We have a lack of fuel. Some of the ambulance services have stopped working. We are trying now to find a way to get fuel into the country,” he said.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has called for “cross-line” support, to enable resources to be sent from government-controlled parts of the country, like Damascus, to the rebel-controlled northwestern region, which has been worst hit by the earthquake.

“Currently, nothing has moved there, but there are discussions about moving aid and access to these areas,” Hammoud said. He hopes resources can be sent “in the coming days.”

In the meantime, his organization has been providing aid to survivors, while rescue efforts continue.

“We have been trying to support with blankets, mattresses and some shelter equipment,” he said. “Hundreds of thousands of people face the threat of becoming homeless in the coming months and days, because of the weaknesses of the buildings after 11 years of war.”

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Tuesday that there are 941 buildings totally collapsed in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region on Monday.

Soylu said this number does not include the damaged buildings but only the buildings that totally collapsed in the city. 

Syria’s volunteer organization the White Helmets — also known as Syria Civil Defense — is continuing rescue operations in opposition-held northwest Syria despite “great difficulties and aftershocks,” they said in a tweet on Tuesday.

“Our teams continue rescue operations amid great difficulties and aftershocks,” the group said.

According to the group, more than 900 people in northwest Syria have been killed in the earthquake, and that number is expected to rise.

CNN was on the ground in Gaziantep, Turkey, where workers were trying to rescue people they heard under the rubble.

First, the workers asked everyone on the scene to be quiet so they could try to listen as they look for people to extract. After some observation, they called for water and resumed the generator to provide power for the machinery they were using for this extraction.

“One has to hope that there will be an extraction here — 15, at least, underneath this rubble. In the last few minutes, they have heard the voices of at least three. So this [is] now a live extraction now,” CNN’s Becky Anderson reported.

Watch the moment:

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Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused damage to part of a road in the Kahramanmaras region in Turkey, causing delays in delivery of aid to the impacted people and areas.

“The road ahead of us — part of it is missing because of damage done by the quake. That is causing a delay in getting urgent aid, urgently getting people out, frankly, from some of the areas,” CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reported.

This comes under severe weather conditions, as the CNN team witnessed “intermittent horizontal snowstorms coming,” he said as a constant stream of excavators, ambulances and other help goes past.

Watch Nick Paton Walsh’s report here:

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At least 5,261 people across Turkey and Syria have been killed in the earthquake that struck the region on Monday

The number of people killed in Syria is more than 1,712. Syria’s White Helmets — also known as Syria Civil Defense — said on Tuesday that more than 900 people have been killed in opposition-held areas. In government-controlled areas, the death toll is 812, according to state news agency SANA.

In Turkey, the death toll is 3,549 according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.

More than 25,000 people have been injured according to figures from the Turkish government, the White Helmets and Syrian state media.

Three British nationals are missing after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, the UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said. 

Addressing lawmakers in parliament in London Tuesday, Cleverly said: “As of this morning, we know that three British nationals are missing and the Foreign Office’s Crisis Response Hub is working to support the at least 35 British nationals who have been directly affected by these earthquakes.”

“We assess that the likelihood of large-scale British casualties remains low,” he added. 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced on Tuesday the country would send humanitarian aid to Turkey to help the victims of the 7.8-magnitude quake, according to the reporting of Turkish state media Antara.

“The assistance is currently being prepared by the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, as well as the Social Affairs Ministry. It is being prepared and will be dispatched as soon as possible,” Widodo said, according to Antara.

According to Antara’s reporting, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin also highlighted the urgency of dispatching humanitarian aid to Turkey to return the support granted by the country to Indonesia during their times of need over major natural disasters in the past.

“Turkey was among the first to assist us during the tsunami in Aceh, and we had also discussed with the President and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto to send a humanitarian mission,” Amin said.

Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Lalu Muhammad Iqbal was also reported saying that the first batch of humanitarian aid, in the form of a freight container full of foods, is currently on its way from Ankara to Gaziantep, one of the most-affected cities after the earthquake.

Portable gas stoves and gas tanks, as well as 300 blankets for Indonesian nationals who have decided to remain in the affected cities, were also distributed according to state media.

According to state media reporting, Iqbal also said 10 Indonesian nationals were injured in Monday’s earthquake, with four of them having received medical care at local hospitals, while six will be evacuated to Ankara.

The embassy has also evacuated 104 Indonesian nationals from earthquake-affected regions to Ankara, state media added.

Taiwan is increasing its donation to the Turkish government to $2 million for disaster relief, and has dispatched two rescue teams to the country, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday.

The Taiwanese government had earlier announced Monday that it would donate $200,000 to Turkey following a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

More than 130 rescue workers have already been dispatched to Turkey to assist in rescue efforts as of Tuesday morning, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said.

Ghana soccer star Christian Atsu is in a “stable” condition at a local hospital after being successfully rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday, his agent, Nana Sechere, told CNN Tuesday.

Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor in Turkey, had been celebrating on Sunday night after he scored a last minute winner in his club’s 1-0 home league game against Kasimpasa, his agent said. 

“There were lots of reports out of England and Ghana that Christian was safe but the first official confirmation I had was on Tuesday morning,” Sechere said. 

“I was told by the club that he was in hospital and that he is stable. He doesn’t have his phone and, like all of us, he can’t remember his numbers by heart so I have to continue to wait to speak to him,” he said. 

Sechere said Atsu had been playing poker till 3:30 a.m. local time (7:30 p.m. ET) with friends on Monday morning and got home around 4 a.m. local time (8:00 p.m. ET).

The agent said he received a call from Hatayspor club officials at 5 a.m. local time (9:00 p.m. ET) saying the building Atsu was in had been completely destroyed and that they couldn’t get hold of him.

“The last I’d heard from Christian was midnight. I was hoping he was awake and that the earthquake hadn’t happened while he was sleeping,” Sechere said. 

“His building was an 11-story building and he was on the ninth floor. The club officials were trying to help me find him but it was so hard because, understandably, they were trying to find their own friends and families as well,” he added. 

“But I even remember when he signed for Hatayspor and we went to the hospital for a medical. Even then it was busy with people queueing and people on the floor. So I can only imagine what it is like with this situation,” Sechere said. 

Read more here.

The US Geological Survey is reporting that more than 100 aftershocks followed the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday, including one of magnitude 7.5.

Remember: All aftershocks are individual earthquakes. But as long as they are not stronger that the original, main quake, they are considered aftershocks.

Here’s a look at where these aftershocks struck:

The death toll in Turkey from the earthquake on Monday has risen to at least 3,549, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his speech from the earthquake coordination center in the capital city of Ankara.  

There are at least 22,168 injured in the country, he added.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said some hotels in Antalya, Turkey, will house earthquake survivors.

“Starting from places close to the disaster area, the necessary plans are being made to put the hotels that have already suspended their activities due to the winter season to serve the disaster victims,” Erdogan said in a speech on Tuesday. “Only in the Antalya region, 50,000 beds have been prepared for this purpose.”

About 8,000 people were rescued from the rubble so far, Erdogan noted.

Here are the other aid and recovery efforts he detailed in his speech:

Aid from around the world is heading toward Turkey and Syria, as rescuers locate survivors in the debris of collapsed buildings following Monday’s deadly earthquake.

Some 70 countries and 14 international organizations have offered to help in search and rescue operations for Turkey, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Ergodan said Tuesday.

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest pledges:

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spoke via phone with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and offered relief assistance to Syria in the wake of the deadly earthquake, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency spokesman on Tuesday.

“During the phone call, the President expressed his sincere condolences to the victims of the devastating earthquake that occurred yesterday, February 6, and wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded and injured,” the statement read, “The President also reaffirmed Egypt’s solidarity with Syria and its sister people in this painful injury, referring to His Majesty’s guidance to provide all possible assistance and relief assistance in this regard to Syria.”

On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a call with his Turkish and Syrian counterparts that Egypt is sending urgent relief aid to both countries, according to tweets from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

The “White Helmets” group, which is officially known as the Syria Civil Defense and operates in rebel-held territories in Syria, said hundreds of families are still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake in the northwest of the country.

The group said in a tweet said the death and injury tolls “are expected to rise significantly because hundreds of families are still under the rubble.”

More than 210 buildings have totally collapsed in northwest Syria, the White Helmets added.

Members of the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts to Turkey and Syria after the powerful quake.

However, Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN earlier that sending aid to Syria will be difficult because there “is no central government to take care of the multi-sectorial response.”

Thousands of homes have been destroyed in areas affected by an earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at a press briefing in Geneva Tuesday.

“Thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common,” Elder said. “Scores of schools, hospitals and other medical and educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes.”

“This is the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in almost 100 years and came at the worst possible time for vulnerable children and families in the affected areas,” he added.

Elder also pointed that the most vulnerable are Syrian refugee families living in informal settlements and displaced families in northwest Syria who are also grappling with an ongoing cholera outbreak and heavy rain and snow.

Images of a father holding the hand of his dead daughter, crushed under layers of rubble, have emerged from the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras.

AFP photographer Adem Altan captured a series of pictures on Tuesday that show Mesut Hancer sitting amid a destroyed building as he clutches the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who was killed in the quake.

Rescuers continue to search for survivors in the ruins of flattened buildings – amid severe weather conditions that are expected to worsen in the coming days.

The UN’s cross-border aid into Syria has been temporarily disrupted following the damage caused by Monday’s powerful earthquake, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) told CNN Tuesday.

The UN’s aid assistance has been “temporarily disrupted due to road challenges – particularly the road from Gaziantep to our Transshipment Hub in Hatay,” said Madevi Sun-Suon, OCHA spokesperson.

“We are exploring all avenues to reach people in need and conducting assessments on feasibility. We do have aid but this road issue is a big challenge as of now,” the spokesperson added. 

Around 4.1 million people rely on humanitarian assistance in the region of northwest Syria rocked by the quake, the majority of whom are women and children, according to an OCHA statement on Monday.

CNN’s Hira Humayun contributed reporting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces for three months, as the country reels from a powerful earthquake Monday that killed over 5,000 people across Turkey and Syria.

“We are declaring our 10 provinces where the earthquake occurred as disaster areas. We have decided to declare a state of emergency based on the authority given to us by the 119th article of the constitution in order to ensure that the search and rescue activities and subsequent studies can be carried out quickly,” Erdogan said during a televised speech Tuesday.

“With this decision, we will quickly complete the presidential and parliamentary processes.”

For many of the Syrian victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, this is just the latest in a decade-long series of tragedies.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck in the early hours, killing more than 5,000 people in the two countries and leaving thousands more injured. It was the strongest earthquake recorded in Turkey in 84 years.

In Syria, most of the casualties were in the northwest of the country, predominantly in the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, according to the state news agency, SANA.

This region was already struggling to rebuild vital infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the United Nations estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011.

It’s a “crisis in the crisis,” El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane on Monday.

The infrastructure has been crippled by the situation, the war and so on,” he said.

Read the full story:

People wrapped in blankets look at the rubble as the search for survivors continues in the aftermath of the earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday.

Related article Earthquake aftermath is 'crisis in a crisis' for Syrians devastated by civil war | CNN

Extreme cold is hampering the efforts to rescue those trapped in the rubble in Turkey and Syria, and are endangering the thousands of people whose homes were damaged by Monday’s earthquake.

“Thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder at a news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

“Displaced families in northwest Syria, and Syrian refugee families living in Turkey in informal settlements are among the most vulnerable as overnight temperatures continue to dip below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit),” he said.

Photos taken in earthquake-hit cities in southeastern Turkey show families huddling around fires to keep warm.

Eyewitnesses in northwest Syria told CNN the conditions there are “terrifying” with the quake leaving “entire families dead” and “survivors sleeping on the streets in the freezing cold.”

Temperatures are already low, and by Wednesday they are expected to plummet several degrees below zero.

An area of low pressure currently hangs over Turkey and Syria. As that moves off, this will bring “significantly colder air” down from central Turkey, according to CNN’s senior meteorologist Britley Ritz.

It is forecast to be -4 degrees Celsius in Gaziantep and -2 degrees in Aleppo on Wednesday morning. On Thursday, this is forecast to fall further, to -6 degrees in Gaziantep and -4 degrees in Aleppo.

Weather warnings are in place across the provinces of Adana and Kahramanmaras for winds of 50 to 75 kph (30 to 45 mph).

The conditions have already made it challenging for aid teams to reach the affected area, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that helicopters were unable to take off on Monday due to the poor weather.

International footballer Christian Atsu has been rescued from the aftermath of the powerful earthquake which struck southern Turkey on Monday.

“We’ve received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment. Let’s continue to pray for Christian,” the Ghana Football Association tweeted Tuesday.

AFP reported Tuesday that Atsu – who is currently playing for Turkish team Hatayspor – had been found in the southern province of Hatay, citing an interview that Ghana’s ambassador to Turkey, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, gave to radio station based in Accra.

Atsu was not immediately accounted for amid search and rescue efforts after the earthquake.

The player’s former club, Premier League side Everton, said it is “relieved” to hear of his rescue.

“We are relieved to hear Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued and is recovering in hospital. Our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,” Everton said on its official Facebook page.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that nearly 23 million people could be impacted by the powerful earthquake that struck southern Turkey early Monday, which has left over 5,000 people dead and thousands more injured.

“Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around 5 million vulnerable populations, including more than 350,000 older people, 1.4 million children,” WHO senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang told the UN health agency’s executive board meeting in Geneva.

The head of the WHO expressed his concern at the situation, calling it a “race against time.”

“We’re especially concerned about areas where we do not yet have information,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “Damage mapping is one way to understand where we need to focus our attention.”

Footage of rescue efforts across both countries emerged Monday, with family members mourning the loss of loved ones while others celebrated as survivors were found in the rubble of fallen buildings.

The head of Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) said that the organization is ready to “immediately” send aid convoys to rebel-held areas, including Idlib, through the United Nations, as international leaders struggle to send aid to quake-stricken parts of northwest Syria amid ongoing conflict and political crisis.

SARC describes itself as an independent organization. The group operates primarily across government-held territories and is based in the capital Damascus. 

“We are ready to send an aid convoy through the cross-line into Idlib if they open the roads for us,” SARC President Khaled Hboubati told a news conference. 

“The death toll will increase … until right now there are buildings collapsing in Aleppo and Latakia,” Hboubati said. 

Hboubati added that the organization does not have enough capabilities to fully deal with the devastation. 

“We were in every location after the earthquake, but we do not have the equipment, we do not have heavy machinery,” Hboubati said. 

The official called for the lifting of international economic sanctions which are affecting the aid operation. 

The powerful earthquake Monday has left over 5,000 people dead and injured thousands more people across Turkey and Syria.

Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN earlier that sending relief to Syria will be challenging because there “is no central government to take care of the multi-sectorial response.”

At least 5,034 deaths have now been confirmed in Turkey and Syria after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the region early on Monday. 

Turkey’s death toll rose to at least 3,432, Turkey’s Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM) said Tuesday.

The deaths were reported in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya, AKOM said. 

At least 21,103 people have been reported injured, AKOM added. Almost 26,000 search and rescue personnel have been involved in operations, along with 360 vehicles and 3,361 pieces of equipment, including more than 600 cranes, it said.

Additionally, 2,769 personnel from 65 countries have been deployed to the disaster area, according to AKOM.

In Syria, the death toll has risen to at 1,602 across government-controlled areas and opposition-controlled areas, officials said.

At least 3,649 people have been reported injured across the country, according to officials.

This post has been updated with the latest figures.

Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN’s This Morning about the difficulty of providing aid to Syria.

“The situation in Turkey is coordinated through a very well developed government. They have infrastructure, they have rescue teams,” Tajaldin said.

“In northern Syria, most of the services are provided by NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and through humanitarian aid. There is no central government to take care of the multi-sectoral response,” he said.

SAMS is one of the many organizations providing relief in the region. This has been made harder after “the previous 12 years of crisis in Syria,” Tajaldin said. Attacks on civilian infrastructure and the absence of investment left northwestern Syria particularly vulnerable to this disaster.

“Yesterday we evacuated two maternity hospitals because of the physical impact of the earthquake on the infrastructure,” Tajaldin added.

China said it will do its best to provide assistance to Turkey and Syria after a devastating earthquake struck the region Monday, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring over 24,000 across both countries.

The first batch of aid to Turkey will be 40 million Chinese yuan ($5.9 million), while also dispatching rescue and medical teams, and emergency supplies, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Mao Ning said Tuesday.

Beijing is coordinating with Syria for emergency supplies and accelerating the implementation of ongoing food aid projects, Mao added.

So far no Chinese citizens have been reported killed in the earthquake, China’s MOFA also confirmed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent condolences to his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, on Monday, according to state media Xinhua, as rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of flattened buildings.

Two Israeli aid groups have chartered a flight to Gaziantep on Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims of the earthquake in Turkey.

United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer emergency medical service, chartered the flight on El Al Airlines alongside aid group IsraAid, United Hatzalah spokesperson Raphael Poch said.

Ten search and rescue specialists, a water expert, and more than a dozen doctors, paramedics and mental health specialists will be on board the flight, according to Poch and IsraAid spokesperson Shachar May.

The groups said they will also be bringing “several tons” of humanitarian aid in the form of bedding, tents, warm clothing, food, water filters, hygiene kits, and resilience kits.

Hundreds of families remain trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in northwest Syria following Monday’s powerful earthquake, according to the White Helmets, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense.

More than 790 victims have been confirmed dead in rebel-held parts of northwest Syria, and more than 2,200 injured, the White Helmets said on Twitter.

However, “the numbers are expected to rise significantly because hundreds of families are still under the rubble,” the group said.

More than 210 buildings were destroyed by the quake in northwest Syria, the group added.

Some context: Syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, is facing widespread devastation from the quake. More than 1,500 fatalities and 3,600 wounded have been reported across the country, according to officials.

Some 4 million people in northern Syria were already displaced and relying on humanitarian support as a result of war, a UNICEF spokesman said earlier. Among major concerns now are a lack of access to shelter and safe drinking water amid freezing weather conditions and the risk of diseases such as cholera spreading.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Ankara on Wednesday to offer his support following the devastating earthquake.

In a statement Tuesday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Sharif would “express condolences and solidarity with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and the people of Turkey over the loss of precious lives and destruction caused by yesterday’s deadly earthquake.”

Pakistan has also deployed two search and rescue teams to Turkey.

The international community has been quick to offer assistance to Turkey and Syria as the full scale of the disaster becomes clear.

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest pledges of support:

More than 4,300 people were killed either side of the Turkey-Syria border when the 7.8-magnitude quake hit southern Turkey in the early hours of Monday. But with thousands more injured and an unknown number missing, it’s feared the final toll could be much higher.

In Syria, a country already suffering the effects of civil war, the devastation following Monday’s earthquake is widespread.

A massive international rescue effort is underway in Turkey and Syria to reach victims trapped within rubble as survivors endured their first night in freezing conditions beside the crumbled remains of thousands of homes and buildings.

The death toll continues to climb more than 24 hours after the quake as search terms navigate blocked roads and damaged infrastructure to reach the affected area, which has been rattled by at least 100 aftershocks.

The United Nations said the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey early Monday was the county’s most powerful quake in more than 80 years.

UNOCHA said emergency response teams from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and World Health Organization’s Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) are being mobilized to Turkey to assist in the humanitarian response. 

“The UN and partners are closely monitoring the situation on the ground and are looking to mobilize emergency funds in the region,” the report said. 

A 14-year-old boy was rescued from the rubble in the city of Kahramanmaras more than 24 hours after a powerful earthquake struck the region, according to CNN affiliate CNN Turk.

His rescue, broadcasted live on CNN Turk, showed emergency teams carrying the boy on a stretcher through crowds to an ambulance.

The boy has been transferred to hospital, the reporter said. His condition is not known.

At least 100 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday morning local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.

As the time from the original earthquake extends, the frequency and magnitude of the aftershocks tend to decrease. However, 5.0 to 6.0-plus aftershocks are still likely to occur and bring a risk of additional damage to structures that are compromised from the original earthquake. This brings a continued threat to rescue teams and survivors.

The aftershocks stretch for more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) along the fault zone that ruptured in southern Turkey, oriented from southwest to northeast and stretching from the border with Syria up through the province of Malatya.

Planes carrying aid shipments from Iraq and Iran arrived at Damascus International Airport after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria, Syrian state media SANA reported.

The Iranian aid arrived on Monday and the Iraqi aid was delivered early Tuesday morning local time, SANA reported.

Mahdi Ghanem, an official at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told SANA that each plane carried about 70 tons of food, medical supplies, blankets and necessary supplies.

On Monday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani announced they would send a shipment of emergency medical supplies, first aid and shelter supplies as well as medicine and fuel.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad he would dispatch humanitarian aid to the area, Iranian state media IRNA reported.

At least 4,372 deaths have been confirmed after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria early Monday.

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.

Sezer said he would provide a more comprehensive update at 6 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET).

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

Poor weather and the scale of the disaster are creating challenges for aid teams, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

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

Parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria have been hit by heavy snowstorms in recent days, with further sub-zero temperatures forecast.

All state institutions have been mobilized in the recovery effort, including the national police, municipal workers, the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency and the Gendarmerie, an armed general law enforcement organization part of the Interior Ministry.   

At least 2,256 emergency health personnel workers have so far reached earthquake-affected provinces, the health minister said.   

At least 602 ambulances and two ambulance planes have been dispatched from neighboring cities. Also, 187 teams part of Turkey’s National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE) have also been dispatched. 

“We have moved teams from surrounding provinces to the region,” the minister said.   

Iskenderun State Hospital, a hospital in the city of Iskenderun, collapsed due to the earthquake.

UNICEF says thousands of homes have likely been destroyed following an earthquake in Turkey and Syria on Monday.

“Thousands of homes are likely to have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common. Heavy snowstorms have also recently hit parts of Syria and Türkiye, with further sub-zero temperatures forecasted,” UNICEF said in a statement.

At least 3,830 deaths have been confirmed after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria early Monday. In Turkey alone, at least 5,606 buildings collapsed, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency. There are reports of similar devastation in northern Syria.

It is also likely that hospitals and schools, along with other medical and education facilities, were “damaged or destroyed,” UNICEF said.

UNICEF is working with the Turkish government and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management on the “emerging needs linked to the wider humanitarian response,” the statement said, adding that the group is also preparing to support efforts in Syria.

“Children in Syria continue to face one of the most complex humanitarian situations in the world. A worsening economic crisis, continued localized hostilities after more than a decade of grinding conflict, mass displacement and devastated public infrastructure have left two-thirds of the population in need of assistance… waterborne diseases pose another deadly threat to children and families affected,” UNICEF said.

More than 4,300 people have died and thousands more were injured after a massive earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday morning. 

The magnitude 7.8 quake was one of the strongest to strike the area in more than a century. Amid severe aftershocks, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) called for international help.

Here’s what to know:

Two search and rescue units from the United States will be sent to Turkey to assist with the aftermath of the earthquake, US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake told CNN on Monday.

“There will be two teams from the US. One from Fairfax County and another from Los Angeles — what they call these heavy units, each with I think 70 personnel with search dogs as well as paramedics,” Flake said. “That’s what we are told is needed.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with his Turkish counterpart on Monday, the State Department said.

“Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister [Mevlüt] Çavuşoğlu discussed ways the United States and our partners could best assist. Secretary Blinken confirmed our initial assistance response was already underway and pledged to do all that we can in coordination with Türkiye to assist the victims of the earthquake in both Türkiye and Syria,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said. 

In terms of getting support into Syria, Flake noted there are a number of humanitarian and church groups the US has worked with in the country. He said it makes it “doubly difficult” that there is no functioning government in Syria. 

Flake suggested that Americans direct donations through the Red Cross, non-profits and church groups if they want to help.

Syrians urgently need assistance after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit part of the country and Turkey early Monday, United Nations’ Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said.

“I reiterate the Secretary-General’s call on the international community to help the thousands suffering from loss. Syrians urgently need global assistance,” Pedersen said.

Thousands of people have died and thousands more are hurt after a massive earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria Monday morning. The magnitude 7.8 quake was one of the strongest to strike the area in more than a century. Amid severe aftershocks, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) called for international help.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says it is “launching immediate cash assistance” from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund to help relief efforts in both countries.

Many other organizations are also on the ground responding.

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