Islamabad (Ankara/ Damascus (Web Desk/Agencies): The death toll in Turkiye and Syria from Monday’s earthquakes has crossed 21,000.
According to international media reports, the disaster has left thousands of people homeless and in need of urgent shelter and aid, according to country’s officials.
At least 18,342 people have been killed in Turkey, according to the country’s officials, surpassing the toll from the devastating 1999 earthquake in that country.
At least 3,377 people are known to have died in Syria.
The World Bank has promised $1.78 billion to Turkey in relief and recovery assistance.
Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres has called on the international community to provide more money for earthquake relief and has announced a donor conference for next week.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates up to 23 million people could be affected by the earthquake. The situation is particularly dire in Syria, where the UN says nearly 70% of the population was in need of humanitarian assistance before the quake — an issue that has only been compounded by the tragedy.
According to Turkiye’s Disaster Management Authority (AFAD), the 7.8 magnitude quake struck at 4.17 a.m. (0117GMT) on Monday and was centered in the Pazarcik district in Türkiye’s southern province of Kahramanmaras. The quake occurred at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles).
AFAD said in a statement that 78 aftershocks occurred following the earthquake. Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis provinces are heavily affected by the quake.