Earthquake becomes Turkey's deadliest in 100 years
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Local residents sit next to the rubble of a destroyed mosque in Hatay, Turkey, on Feb. 10. Photo: Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Tuesday that the country's death toll from last week's massive earthquake and aftershocks had reached 35,418, AP reported.
Why it matters: This makes the quake Turkey's deadliest since the country was founded in 1923.
- The new death toll makes the Feb. 6 earthquake deadlier than the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939, which killed around 33,000 people.
By the numbers: Erdoğan said 105,505 people were injured as a result of last week's earthquake.
- Syrian state media said Sunday that at least 1,414 people were killed in government-controlled areas. The Syrian Civil Defense, the group of first responders also known as the White Helmets, said that 2,274 people had died in opposition-held areas — bringing the country's death toll from the quake to at least 3,688 people.
- The overall death toll for both countries has now surpassed 39,000.
The big picture: Thousands of buildings have collapsed across Turkey and Syria, with the sheer scale of the destruction and freezing temperatures hampering rescue efforts, which are ongoing.
- Erdoğan, speaking after a five-hour Cabinet meeting at the headquarters of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, said that 47,000 buildings had been either destroyed or so badly damaged that they would require demolition, per AP.
- "We will continue our work until we get our last citizen out of the destroyed buildings," Erdogan said, per AP.
- Turkish authorities have launched an investigation into contractors allegedly linked to some of the deadly building collapses.
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Tuesday to temporarily allow earthquake aid to pass through two new border crossings from Turkey into rebel-held areas of northern Syria, after first responders and activists strongly criticized the UN and international community for their slow response in getting assistance to the millions of people affected in the area.
Go deeper: WHO warns Turkey and Syria quake survivors face "secondary disaster"
