'We Will Work Until we get our Last Citizen out': President Erdogan as Turkey Earthquake Death Count Crosses 35,000

Earthquake, which struck Turkey and Syria last week, has left tens of thousands of survivors homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (February 14, 2023) said that 35,418 people have died in Turkey as a result of last week's earthquake, making it the country's deadliest such disaster in a century. Confirmed deaths in Turkiye passed those recorded from the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939 that killed around 33,000 people. Erdogan informed that 1,05,505 were injured as a result of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 6.  The disaster, with a combined death toll in Turkey and neighbouring Syria exceeding 41,000, has ravaged cities in both countries and has left many of the tens of thousands of survivors homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

Speaking in Ankara following a five-hour Cabinet meeting held at the headquarters of disaster agency AFAD, Erdogan said 47,000 buildings, which contained 2,11,000 residences, had been destroyed or were so badly damaged as to require demolition.

"We are facing one of the greatest natural disasters not only in our country but also in the history of humanity," Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara.

Erdogan has acknowledged problems in the initial response to the powerful quake but has said that the situation is now under control.

"We will continue our work until we get our last citizen out of the destroyed buildings," Erdogan said of ongoing rescue efforts.

The Turkish president, who has referred to the quake as "the disaster of the century," said more than 13,000 people were still being treated in hospital.

The quake has affected 10 provinces in Turkey that are home to some 13.5 million people.