LIVE updates on the Turkey-Syria earthquake: As rescue workers battled to help people trapped under debris in the bitter cold, the dead toll from a major earthquake that slammed Turkey and Syria increased to above 11,200. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday claimed 8,574 lives in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria, bringing the overall death toll to over 11,000 people.
Officials and rescuers on both sides reported that 5,000 more individuals in Syria and another 5,000 in Turkey reportedly sustained injuries.
During a visit to Kahramanmaras, a city in southern Turkey that was the epicenter of the original earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provided an update on the casualty numbers.
According to a BBC report, rescue attempts in southern Turkey were far from complete and the bodies of those who died in the earthquake were being left out on the streets as crews looked for survivors. For the following three months, a state of emergency has been imposed for the ten earthquake-affected provinces.
On Tuesday, it became more obvious how serious of a humanitarian crisis the 7.8-magnitude earthquake has caused. Rescue teams are understaffed in isolated Turkish towns, while hospitals have completely failed in war-torn northwest Syria, which has also suffered extensive destruction.
Search teams and rescue supplies have started to arrive by plane, and dozens of countries, including the United States, China, and the Gulf States, have promised their support.
Winter storms have made several roads, some of which were already damaged by the earthquake, nearly impassable, adding to the agony and causing kilometer-long traffic jams in some areas. The big earthquake might affect up to 23 million people, according to the World Health Organization, which asked nations to provide aid to the disaster area immediately.
After the main earthquake, the area had over 100 aftershocks and 1 separate earthquake. The rescue attempts have also been impeded by the harsh weather. Rescue efforts in Syria were hampered by the rain, and rescue workers in Turkey struggled due to the cold.