Turkiye-Syria earthquake death toll passes 20,000

The death toll from the Turkiye-Syria earthquake has now passed 20,000!

It is the deadliest earthquake in over a decade, with at least 16,170 deaths in Turkiye only.

It’s now surpassed the count after the 2011 earthquake in Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami, killing over 18,400.

The earthquake has left an estimated 300,000 people homeless across the earthquake-hit region of Turkiye and Syria. 

While about 6,500 buildings have collapsed in Turkey alone.

Rescuers believe hundreds of people are still under the rubble.

Rescuers say the window to find more survivors under the rubble has likely passed, but families are still digging.

At least 28,044 people have been evacuated from Kahramanmaras, one of the southern Turkish provinces hardest hit by Monday’s earthquake, including 23,437 by air and 4,607 by road and rail, Turkiye’s disaster management agency said.

State officials in Syria said earlier on Thursday the death toll in government-controlled areas stands at 1,262, while 1,930 have been reported dead in rebel-held areas in the north-west of the country by the White Helmets civil defence group.

A total of 5,158 people have been reported injured across both government-controlled and rebel-held areas of Syria.

On the other hand, the first aid trucks entered rebel-held Syria, 3 days after the earthquake. The area houses millions displaced by government airstrikes, who were already suffering from poverty, food shortages and cholera.

As reported, rescue teams have only reached 5% of northwest Syria impacted by the earthquake.

Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster in Turkiye and Syria could continue for months.