Another earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolted Nurdagi district, a city in Gaziantep Province of Turkey on Wednesday.
The quake was reported around 8:31 am at a depth of 10 km, 15 km south of Nurdagi at the location, 37.032°N 36.721°E, reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). More than 7,900 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, according to officials.
At least 7,926 people have now been confirmed dead and nearly 40,000 injured following Monday’s quake, according to officials in Turkey and Syria. Agencies have said those numbers could rise significantly as many people remain trapped under the rubble, reported CNN.
Thousands of buildings collapsed in both countries and aid agencies are particularly worried about northwestern Syria, where more than 4 million people were already relying on humanitarian assistance.
Freezing weather conditions are further endangering survivors and complicating rescue efforts, as more than 100 aftershocks have struck the region.
Countries and organizations from across the globe have responded to the crisis with money, equipment, and boots on the ground. Doctors Without Borders says it has 500 staff working in Syria — some of whom lost family members in the quake.
NATO said its members are sending more than 1,400 emergency response personnel, and a US rescue team is expected to land in the Turkish city of Adana on Wednesday, reported CNN.
The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years, struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the US Geological Survey said.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month-long state of emergency in 10 provinces as rescuers race against time in Turkey and Syria following Monday’s devastating earthquake, reported CNN.
As support arrives from around the world, the scale of the humanitarian crisis is becoming clearer and aid agencies are warning of the difficulties in both reaching survivors and treating the injured.
The World Health Organization estimates up to 23 million people could be affected by the earthquake. The situation is particularly dire in Syria, where the UN says nearly 70% of the population was in need of humanitarian assistance before the quake — an issue that has only been compounded by the tragedy. The damage caused a temporary disruption to the UN’s cross-border aid into Syria, with UN humanitarian teams exploring all avenues to reach those in need. Meanwhile, hospitals in war-hit Syria are “absolutely overloaded,” UNICEF’s representative in Aleppo said. (ANI)
