Turkey-Syria earthquake Live Updates | Erdogan imposes three-month state of emergency as combined death toll surpasses 5,000

Officials have said that death toll from quake in Turkey rose to 4,544. 

LATEST DEATH TOLL
TURKEY - 4554 | SYRIA - 1602  

TOTAL - 6156

Turkey-Syria Earthquake:For more than 29 hours, the rescue workers of White Helmets, exhausted but mentally undefeated, continue to pull out lives trapped underneath the mound of rubble as search and rescue efforts continue, after northwestern Syria and southern Turkey were hit by five devastating earthquakes, killing so far more than 5,000 people.

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A major fire broke out at Iskenderun port, when containers that had been dislodged by the quake broke into flames. Shipping company Maersk said in an advisory it was not yet clear when the port would return to normal operations, as reported by Reuters. 

In Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters: “The earthquakes … may have killed thousands of children,” as reported by the Guardian.

While actual numbers are not available, he said “we know that scores of schools, hospitals and other medical and educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes, vastly impacting children," as per a Reuters report. 

The 10 provinces impacted by the deadly earthquakes in southern Turkey have been declared a disaster zone by President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, imposing a three-month state of emergency, as reported by Reuters.

Khaled Hboubati, the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, is appealing to the United States and the European Union to lift the long-standing sanctions against Syria since the earthquake has left the nation desperately in need of aid.

“I call for the lifting of sanctions on Syria. This is the most important thing for us,” Hboubati told a news conference Damascus, highlighting the need for construction machinery to rebuild lost infrastructure. 

Following the severe earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, a staff member of the medical support organisation, Doctors Without Borders has allegedly been discovered dead under the debris of his home in the Syrian province of Idlib. Sebastien Gay, the group’s head of mission in Syria, said “The massive consequences of this disaster will require a (scaled up) international aid effort."

According to BBC reports, 3,400 people spent the night in trains that were being deployed as emergency shelter in Turkey, according to the country's ministry of infrastructure and transportation.

A UN spokesperson told Reuters news agency that critical aid from Turkey to northwest Syria had to be temporarily stopped due to damage of roads and other logistical issues related issues.

“Some roads are broken, some are inaccessible. There are logistical issues that need to be worked through,” Madevi Sun-Suona, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian assistance (OCHA), was quoted as saying.

“We don’t have a clear picture of when it will resume,” she added.

World Health Organisation has said that around 23 million people could be affected by the massive earthquake in Turkey, Syria.

"Event overview maps show that potentially 23 million people are exposed, including around five million vulnerable populations," WHO senior emergencies officer Adelheid Marschang told the UN health agency's executive committee.

Death toll rises to 4,983 as the search and rescue operation to find the survivors is still on. According to local media reports, Turkey has recorded 3,381 fatalities, while Syria reported 1,602 casualties.

Pakistan denies airspace to Indian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Turkey, sources told WION.

• After a brief pause due to low temperatures overnight, rescue operations pick up pace as search for survivors continue.
• So far, the confirmed death toll has crossed 4,300, but it is expected to rise soon as more sites are searched in the wide area
• According to Turkey's disaster agency AFAD, more than 2,600 personnel from 65 countries have been sent to the disaster area to assist Turkish rescuers
• As many as 300,000 blankets and over 41,00 family tents have been delivered
• Thousands of buildings have collapsed after the 7.8 magnitude quake near Gaziantep, Turkey, hit in the early hours of Monday while people were asleep
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Rescue efforts were hamapered by unfavourable conditions and freezing temperatures overnight in Turkey and Syria, a day after dveastating earthquake struck the region, killing at least 4,300 people.

People who lost their homes swarmed to campfires as temperatures plummted in the night. 

Turkey deployed around 13,000 rescue personnel to the earthquake zone on Tuesday as rescue efforts intensify in the aftermath of the devastating quake.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said the team, comprising staff and volunteers, have been sent particularly to the Hatay province, which suffered the most on Monday.

The runway at Hatay Airport was split into two after the 7.8-magnitude tremor.

The United States Geological Survey has said that at least 100 aftershocks measuring 4.0 or greater have hit quake-striken southern Turkey.

It is believed that the intensity of the aftershocks tend to decrease after the original earthquake. But, 5.0 to 6.0-plus aftershocks may occur and cause more damage to buildings. 

According to report, the aftershocks stretch for more than 300 kilometers (186 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.

Australia on Tuesday pledged an "initial" 10m Australian dollars ($6.94m) in aid for quake-stricken Turkey and Syria.

"Australia's assistance will target those in greatest need," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, expressing his condolences to those affected.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who is visiting Australia, also announced his government would chip in 1.5m New Zealand dollars ($0.94m) in aid.

At least 4,300 people have been killed and thousands of buildings reduced to rubble after a devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude struck Turkey and Syria, even as rescuers try to look for survivors.

UN says death toll could rise to more than 20,000 from one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the region in at least a century

Iran and Iraq dispatched planes carrying aid shipments to Syria which has been devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

On Monday, the Iranian aid arrived at Damascus airport, while the Iraqi aid was delivered early Tuesday morning local time, according to SANA news agency.

An official at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mahdi Ghanem, told SANA that each plane carried about 70 tons of food, medical supplies, blankets and necessary supplies.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad he would dispatch humanitarian aid to the area, Iranian state media IRNA reported.

• Rescuers pull through all nightery to rescue survivors from the rubble across a vast area stretching from south-eastern Turkey to northern Syria
• The death toll in the two countries continues to rise, as now it is being reported that at least 4,000 people have been killed and 15,000 injured.
• Countries from across the world have pledged support while some have already sent rescue teams help find those still trapped under the rubble.
• Thousands of people who lost their homes in the earthquake are spending the night on the streets in nearly freezing temperatures. Some have gathered near campfires to keep warm
• According to reports, thousands of buildings have turned to rubble after the 7.8 magnitude quake near Gaziantep, Turkey, hit in the early hours of Monday.
• Several hours later, another tremor with 7.5-magnitude hit Turkiye, causing further damage.

According to Turkey's disaster and emergencies agency, the death toll in earthquake has soared to 2,921. While another 15,834 people have been injured.