International rescue missions have rushed to Turkey and Syria after one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the region in at least a century left more than 3,800 people dead, thousands injured and an unknown number trapped in the rubble. The early-morning quake and dozens of aftershocks brought down entire apartment blocks in Turkey and heaped more destruction on Syrian communities already devastated by over a decade of war.
At least 2,379 people were confirmed dead in Turkey, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, and 1,444 in Syria, according to figures from the Damascus government and rescue workers. Thousands more were injured, with the death toll expected to rise.
The first quake struck as people slept and measured magnitude 7.8, making it one of the most powerful in the region in at least a century. It was felt as far away as Cyprus and Cairo. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said preliminary data showed the second large quake measured 7.7 magnitude and was centred 67km (42 miles) north-east of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, at a depth of 2km.
In 1999, when a quake of similar magnitude hit the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, it killed more than 17,000 people.
The death toll could rise to more than 20,000 people, said Catherine Smallwood, the World Health Organization’s senior emergency officer for Europe. “There’s continued potential of further collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eightfold increases on the initial numbers,” she told AFP, speaking when the estimated toll stood at 2,600. “We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.”
Joe Biden spoke with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Monday to offer condolences and reaffirm Washington’s readiness to assist in rescue efforts, the White House said. The US president “noted that US teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items”, said a White House statement.
More than 10 search and rescue teams from the European Union were mobilised to help with the recovery, a spokesperson for the European Commission said. The US, UK, Canada, Israel, Russia and China were among other countries to offering assistance. Calls have emerged for the international community to relax some of the political restrictions on aid entering north-west Syria, the country’s last rebel-held enclave and one of the areas worst hit.
There were more than 100 smaller aftershocks registered by seismologists.
Turkey’s armed forces set up an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the zone affected.
Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is under construction, was not damaged by the earthquake, an official from the Russian company building it said.
The Swedish presidency of the EU activated the integrated political crisis response (IPCR) to coordinate EU support measures in response to the earthquake, the EU council announced. The IPCR arrangements strengthen the EU’s ability to take rapid decisions in such situations.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has called for increased funding for humanitarian aid in Syria, saying many people in the north-west had already been displaced up to 20 times and medical care in the region was “strained beyond capacity, even before this tragedy”.
The partial destruction of a Roman-era castle in the Turkish city of Gaziantep has led to fears two earthquakes that struck on Monday may have damaged other priceless monuments in Turkey and Syria.