Ankara: The death toll in both countries has exceeded 15,000 in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. The available figures are 12,391 dead in Turkey and 2,992 in Syria. Rescue operations are continuing in the disaster-hit areas.
Meanwhile, the President of Turkey, Erdogan, admitted that there were problems on the part of the government in the earthquake relief work. Urgugan pointed out that it is impossible to prepare for such a traumatic disaster. There was widespread protest against the government claiming that the relief work had been delayed. The President visited Kahramanmaras where there was a lot of damage.
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred on the southeastern border between Turkey and Syria at around 4:17 am local time on February 6. There were aftershocks. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed in both countries. Extreme cold is making life difficult for those in the relief centres. International relief aid is pouring in.
At the same time, aid workers point out that Syria does not receive international aid like Turkey. They say that hundreds of people are still trapped in the buildings 60 hours after the disaster and that international help is needed.
