© Reuters. Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building after a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
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By Mehmet Caliskan, Huseyin Hayatsever and Ece Toksabay
KAHRAMANMARAS/ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Families in southern Turkey and Syria spent a second night in freezing cold on Wednesday as overwhelmed rescuers scrambled to pull people out of the rubble two days after an earthquake that killed more of 9,600 people.
In Turkey, dozens of bodies, some covered in blankets and sheets and others in body bags, were lined up on the ground outside a hospital in Hatay province.
Many in the disaster zone had slept in their cars or on the streets under blankets, afraid to return to buildings shaken by the 7.8-magnitude tremor, already the deadliest in Turkey since 1999, which struck in the early hours of Monday.
Rescuers there and in neighboring Syria warned the death toll would continue to rise as some survivors said help had not yet arrived.
“Where are the tents, where are the food trucks?” said Melek, 64, in the southern Turkish city of Antakya, adding that he had not seen any rescue teams.
“Here we have not seen any food distribution, unlike previous disasters in our country. We survived the earthquake, but here we will die of hunger or cold.”
With the scale of the disaster becoming more apparent, the death toll has surpassed 7,100 in Turkey. In Syria, already ravaged by 11 years of war, the confirmed number rose to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces. But residents of several damaged Turkish towns expressed anger and despair at what they said was a slow and inadequate response by authorities.
Erdogan, who is facing a close election in May, is expected to visit some of the affected areas on Wednesday.
The initial quake, followed hours later by a second almost as powerful, struck just after 4 a.m. Monday, giving the sleeping population little chance to react.
It brought down thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, injuring tens of thousands and leaving countless homeless in Turkey and northern Syria.
Turkish authorities say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning about 450 km (280 miles) from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east, wider than the distance between Boston and Philadelphia, or Amsterdam. and Paris.
In Syria, it killed people as far south as Hama, about 100 km from the epicenter.
Turkey’s disaster management agency said the number of injured was over 38,000.
‘UNDER THE RUBBLE’
In the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, rescuers and residents said dozens of buildings had collapsed.
Standing around the rubble of what had been a 32-apartment building, relatives of people who had lived there said they had not seen anyone get out alive. The lack of heavy equipment to remove large slabs of concrete was impeding rescue efforts.
Rescue teams have struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, held back by destroyed roads, bad weather and a lack of resources and heavy equipment. Some areas are without fuel and electricity.
Aid officials expressed particular concern about the situation in Syria, where humanitarian needs were already greater than at any time since the outbreak of a conflict that has divided the nation and is complicating relief efforts.
The head of the World Health Organization has said rescue efforts face a race against time, with the chances of finding living survivors dwindling with every minute and hour.
In Syria, a rescue service operating in the insurgent-controlled northwest said the death toll had risen to more than 1,280 and more than 2,600 wounded.
“The number is expected to increase significantly due to the presence of hundreds of families under the rubble, more than 50 hours after the earthquake,” the rescue service said on Twitter.
Overnight, the Syrian health minister said the death toll in government-controlled areas rose to 1,250, state-run al-Ikhbariya news outlet reported on its Telegram channel. The number of wounded was 2,054, he said.
Turkey’s deadliest earthquake in a generation has given Erdogan a daunting rescue and rebuilding challenge, one that will dwarf the run-up to May elections already set to be the toughest of his two decades in power.
The vote, too close according to pre-earthquake polls, will determine how Turkey is governed, where its economy is headed and what role the regional powerhouse and NATO member can play in easing the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.