The number of victims of devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria may exceed 40 thousand people.

“It is very difficult to give an accurate assessment, since the rubble has yet to be dismantled, but I am sure that the number (of the dead. -

RT

) will double or more,” TASS quotes UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, who is in Turkey.

The Minister of Health of the country, Fahrettin Koca, said that the number of victims today has already exceeded 22 thousand, more than 80 thousand people have suffered.

In turn, the Syrian Ministry of Health reported 1.3 thousand victims, more than 2.3 thousand people were injured. 

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The earthquakes also changed the landscape of Turkey: a giant tectonic fault 200 m long and 30 m deep appeared in the province of Hatay.

Recall, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred in Turkey on February 6.

The epicenter of the tremors was the province of Kahramanmarash.

After each earthquake, aftershocks followed, which affected neighboring provinces, as well as the territory of Syria.

Seismic activity was recorded in Israel, Cyprus, Iraq, Lebanon, Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia and Russia.

The head of the Risk Mitigation Department of the Turkish Emergency Management Department, Orhan Tatar, said that there were more than 2,000 aftershocks.

“The vast majority of them were above magnitude 4.0,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

  • Rescuers pull a survivor out of the rubble of a building in Turkey

  • AP

  • © Can Lake

Orkhan Tatar also spoke about the destructive power of earthquakes.

“We faced a catastrophe far beyond what we had imagined... The area was shaking violently for about two minutes.

The energy released as a result of two earthquakes is equivalent to the energy of 500 atomic bombs,” the specialist explained.

In turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the current earthquakes were three times more powerful than the tremors in the Marmara Sea in 1999 (nearly 17.5 thousand people died then).

In connection with the tragedy in Turkey, nationwide mourning has been declared until February 12.

Cleanup 

As a result of tremors, about 6.5 thousand buildings were destroyed.

The Turkish parliament has declared a state of emergency in ten provinces of the country, where rescue work continues - many people are still under the rubble of collapsed buildings. 

At the same time, law enforcement agencies are fighting looters: according to media reports, 48 ​​people were arrested in eight regions of the country, involved in thefts and looting.

In addition, Turkish security forces have arrested eight people who are suspected of illegally rebuilding buildings in Sanlıurfa province, causing them to collapse and cause deaths.

According to the authorities, about 6.5 thousand rescuers from 56 countries are involved in the aftermath of the disaster and search and rescue operations.

Russia has also sent experts to Turkey and Syria to deal with the aftermath of devastating earthquakes.

The total strength of the EMERCOM group in Turkey is over 150 people, they are conducting search and rescue operations in the province of Kahramanmarash, which was most affected by the disaster.

Rescuers still manage to find survivors at the scene of the tragedy.

During the operation, Russian rescuers pulled more than 40 people out of the rubble, five of them were alive. 

Specialists of the EMERCOM of Russia are also actively involved in search and rescue operations in Syria.

On February 11, President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the city of Jebla, where Russian specialists work.

“Today, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in the city of Jebla, where a group of Russian rescuers is working, to personally thank them for their help in eliminating the consequences of earthquakes.

Bashar al-Assad was delighted with the work of specialists from the Russian Emergencies Ministry, who are clearing the rubble around the clock in the fight for the lives of Syrian citizens, ”the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations told the Syrian President about the progress of search and rescue operations, interaction with Syrian and international rescue teams.

In turn, Bashar al-Assad noted that the Syrian people will never forget the assistance provided by Russia.