Live TV LIVE UPDATES Powerful quake kills thousands in Turkey and Syria
By Tara Subramaniam, Rhea Mogul, Adam Renton, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury, CNNUpdated 4:34 PM ET, Mon February 6, 2023
What we're covering
More than 3,400 people have been killed and thousands more injured after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early Monday. Officials continue to update the death toll as rescue efforts continue. 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.Multiple strong aftershocks have been felt across the region for hours after the first quake, including a severe quake measuring magnitude 7.5.Click here if you want to help the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.
4:59 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023Photos: As darkness falls those displaced by earthquake seek shelterFrom CNN Digital’s Photo TeamAs the death toll rises and rescue workers continue to search for survivors, thousands more seek shelter after their homes were destroyed or damaged too badly to be safe. Here are some of the images we've seen as darkness falls across the region.People gather near a collapsed building in Iskenderun, Turkey, on Monday, February 6, 2023. Umit Bektas/ReutersPeople sit around a bonfire in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. (Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters)A child watches as people sleep inside a bus in Antakya, Turkey. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)People displaced by the earthquake take shelter in Osmaniye, Turkey. (Suhaib Sale/Reuters)People arrive at a temporary shelter inside a sports center in A'zaz, Syria. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)Emergency teams search rubble for victims in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey. (Khalil Hamra/AP)
4:45 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023
Syrians "urgently" need assistance, UN envoy says
From CNN's Sahar Akbarzai and Mia Alberti
Syrians urgently need assistance after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit part of the country and Turkey early Monday, United Nations' Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said.
"Syrians urgently need global assistance," Pederson said.
"I reiterate the Secretary-General's call on the international community to help the thousands suffering from loss. Syrians urgently need global assistance," Pederson said.
4:44 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023Death toll climbs to 3,452 following the devastating earthquakeFrom CNN's Mia Alberti, Isil Sariyuce, Hira Humayun and Hande Atay Alam A rescue team works on a collapsed building in Antakya, Turkey. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)The death toll across Turkey and Syria has risen to at least 3,452 after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey early Monday.The total number of injured in Turkey and Syria climbed to 15,762 on Monday.The total death toll in Turkey has climbed to 2,316, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD). The total death toll in Syria rose to 1,136. SANA reports 656 across government-controlled areas and the "White Helmets" group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, reported 480 deaths in opposition-controlled areas.Turkey has at least 13,293 and Syria has 2,469 injured people following the devastating earthquake.
4:39 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023Iraq will send aid to Turkey and Syria, prime minister saysFrom CNN's Sahar Akbarzai, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Aqeel Najim Iraq has announced it will send aid to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, according to a statement released Monday from Iraq's prime minister, Mohammed S. Al-Sudani. "Iraq set up today an air bridge to both Syria and Turkiye to send urgent relief aid, which includes emergency medical supplies, first aid, and shelter supplies and medicine and fuel," Al-Sudani explained. "These efforts align with the Iraqi commitment to humanitarian cooperation with brotherly and friendly peoples and solidarity with the victims of the humanitarian disaster," the prime minister said. Following the order of al-Sudani, Iraqi Military transport aircraft sent the first shipment of humanitarian, medical, and food aid to Damascus Airport in Syria, the Iraqi defense ministry said in a statement on Monday. The defense ministry said this is "to alleviate the burden of the crisis that Syria is going through after the catastrophe of the earthquake that struck," Turkey and Syria.
4:42 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023"Many people are very scared." UN coordinator says search and rescue operation is very tough in SyriaFrom CNN's Mitchell McCluskeyThe situation in Syria is "really tough" after a devastating earthquake hit the region on Monday, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, told CNN."The search and rescue is hampered by the situation here where there is a lack of heavy equipment and machinery to clear the rubble," he said. "The situation in Syria is really, really, tough. Beyond the crisis that we have been given, it's not easy to import things.... It's not easy to find spare parts for that equipment. And nobody expected this anyway – so it wasn't at the top of priorities."Benlamlih said the work will continue, “and we have teams in Aleppo and Hama, and other places trying to assess the situation."Many buildings collapsed around northwest Syria during the earthquake, and more could still fall, Benlamlih said."Buildings in those places are already very vulnerable, and it might not be a surprise to have other buildings coming down. Particularly as we're facing also very tough conditions of work with the rain, and with the snow that is I think expected tonight in all of northwest Syria," Benlamlih said."Many people are very scared. They don't want to go back to their houses if we can call them houses, in these cases," Benlamlih said, "They are afraid of the tremors. So they are spending their nights in freezing temperatures."Benlamlih said that the UN has a stock of supplies they have been distributed, but more supplies are needed.
4:11 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023At least 5,606 buildings collapsed during and after the earthquake, Turkish agency saysFrom CNN's Hande Atay AlamA rescue team works on a collapsed building in Osmaniye, Turkey. (Dilara Senkay/Reuters)At least 5,606 buildings collapsed during and after the earthquake on Monday, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency. There are a total of 19,574 rescue personnel working in the earthquake region for recovery efforts, an AFAD statement said. Turkish Airlines announced Monday that flight operations to Adana, Elazig, and Diyarbakir continue for citizens who want to reach the earthquake zone.According to Afad's statement, the airports in Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakır, and Adıyaman are open to all flights. Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa Airports are only open to aid flights while Kahramanmaraş and Hatay airports are closed to flights due to the earthquake damage, an AFAD statement said. The death toll in Turkey climbed to 2,316 on Monday, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).
3:48 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023EU activates crisis response mechanism to coordinate quicker support to Turkey and SyriaFrom CNN’s Sugam PokharelThe European Union has activated its crisis response mechanism in order to coordinate the bloc’s support measures to Turkey and Syria quicker after devastating earthquakes on Monday. “The Swedish presidency has decided on 6 February 2023 to activate the integrated political crisis response (IPCR) to coordinate EU support measures in response to the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, in close collaboration with the European Commission,” the EU Council said in a statement. The IPCR arrangements strengthen the EU's ability to take rapid decisions when facing major cross-sectoral crises requiring a response at EU level, it said. Through this mechanism, the presidency of the Council coordinates the political response to the crisis by bringing together EU institutions, member states and other key actors, the EU Council added.
3:44 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023More than 75 aftershocks so far today in Turkey, according to US agencyFrom CNN's Taylor WardAt least 77 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have occurred since a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey Monday morning local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.Three of the aftershocks have measured 6.0 or greater, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the epicenter of the main quake.The aftershocks stretch for more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) along the fault zone that ruptured in southern Turkey, oriented from southwest to northeast and stretching from the border with Syria up through the province of Malatya.
3:34 p.m. ET, February 6, 2023In Syria, earthquake survivors are sleeping outside "in the freezing cold," eyewitnesses sayFrom CNN’s Celine AlkhaldiConditions in northwest Syria are “terrifying” in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on Monday, according to eyewitnesses.The quake left “entire families dead” and “survivors sleeping on the streets in the freezing cold,” they told CNN.Dr. Mostafa Edo, a Country Director for the US-based NGO MedGlobal – who has lived in Idlib for the past three years – spent Monday distributing aid to hospitals across Syria’s northwest region. He said what made this earthquake particularly terrifying was how long it lasted.“In the building where I live [in Idlib], my neighbor lives with his parents, both of whom have a disability. He couldn’t leave home during the earthquake because he had to stay by their side because they couldn’t leave home. They had to stay in place for hours that were absolutely horrific as the earthquake and aftershocks took place,” Edo said. He added, “One of my colleagues, who I’ve worked with for more than five years, was killed about two years ago in Russian airstrikes. I found out today that his whole family, his wife and kids, all passed away today when their building collapsed.” Limited resources to treat wounded: Edo said many hospitals in the area are not prepared for emergencies like this, and that his team distributed supplies to hospitals receiving the largest number of patients. There is still a high demand for supplies like orthopedic plates used to treat fractures, but that he and his team couldn’t find enough to meet that demand.“Hospitals right now are starting to suffer from electricity outages. A great number of hospitals, which were relying on electricity supplies from Turkey over the years, will now have to start depending on generators, which require diesel,” Edo said, adding that cities he traveled to on Monday including Harem, Darkush, Kafr Takharim and Tal Mileh, have been “particularly difficult” because paramedics are unable to use heavy machinery to help with rescue operations “due to fears that people are still alive under the rubble of buildings that have totally collapsed.”Khalil Ashawi, a photojournalist based in Jindayris in Syria’s northwest, said that in his 10 years of covering the war in Syria, he hasn’t witnessed scenes as disastrous as the ones he witnessed Monday.“It’s a disaster. Paramedics and firefighters are trying to help, but unfortunately, there is too much for them to deal with. They can’t handle it all," Ashawi said. “Entire families have been killed. Seven to eight people from the same family, all gone. These are the sort of situations I am seeing and hearing about today,” he said. “It is freezing at the moment, and there are so many people sleeping in the streets right now because they have no homes to go to,” Ashawi added.Ashawi’s family is based in Turkey. He says his mom and dad, who live in Antakya, have been missing since Monday morning. More than 2,700 people have been killed and thousands more injured after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early Monday. Officials continue to update the death toll as rescue efforts continue.
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