ANKARA, Feb 13 — At least 31,643 people in Turkiye were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted the country’s southern areas on Feb 6, the disaster agency said on Monday.
Magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centred in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Turkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.
More than 238,459 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, Anadolu Agency reported the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) as saying in a statement.
Almost 158,165 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, AFAD said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday said a total of 9,793 foreign personnel from 74 nations are currently continuing their efforts in the field.
After the initial earthquake, an air aid corridor was created by the Turkish Armed Forces to deliver search and rescue teams to the region, it reported.
A large number of aircraft for transport, including A-400Ms, carried search and rescue teams and vehicles to the region. Ambulance planes are also using the air aid corridor.
Rescue and relief personnel and materials were directed to the region with 170 helicopters and 76 aircrafts, AFAD said.
A total of 26 ships were also assigned to the region for personnel and material shipment and for evacuation.
— Bernama
