Amid freezing temperatures, thousands are without food, water and shelter in Turkey and Syria as the death toll in the devastating 7.8-magnitude quake increased to 17,000 on Thursday, authorities said.
Rescuers continued to dig through the tangled mess of concrete, steel and wires of collapsed structures after Monday’s earthquakes—magnitude 7.8 and 7.5—that hit the Syrian-Turkish border. But the number of survivors found has slowed to a trickle as efforts passed the crucial 72 hours that most disaster experts say is the most likely window to save lives.
The victims and the widespread damages have been reported from the 10 regions of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.
Besides rescue teams, blankets, tents, food, and psychological support teams were also sent to affected areas.
A total of 92,738 family tents were set up to shelter survivors, AFAD also said.
It added that 5,557 vehicles, including excavators, tractors and dozers, were sent to the disaster area.
In Syria, the total number of fatalities stood at 3,162, CNN reported.
Of the overall deaths, 1,900 were reported in rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest, while 1,262 fatalities were registered in government-controlled parts of the war-torn nation, according to Syrian state media and other officials.
Meanwhile, over 5,000 people were reported injured and the toll is likely to increase as search operations continue.
