February 8, 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake news

At least 18 people were detained and five were arrested after “provocative posts” were posted on social media platforms about Turkey’s earthquake, according to the Turkish Police Force’s tweet on Wednesday. 

The Turkish Police Force tweeted that 202 account managers “who made provocative posts about the earthquake on social media platforms were detected.”

“The websites that wanted to abuse our benevolent citizens were closed down,” it added.

On Wednesday, network monitoring firm NetBlocks said traffic filtering had been applied at the internet service provider level that was preventing Twitter users from reaching the social media site.  

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned about the provocative actions during his visit to the earthquake region in Kahramanmaras on Wednesday. “I want my friends from the press not to give an opportunity to those who give these provocations an opportunity.”

Smoke billows from Iskenderun Port as emergency workers continue rescue efforts in Iskenderun, Turkey, on February 7.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has reached at least 11,376, according to authorities.

In Turkey, the death toll has risen to at least 8,574, with nearly 50,000 others reported injured, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised briefing Wednesday, during a visit to disaster areas near the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake. 

In Syria, the total number of deaths now stands at 2,802, including 1,540 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets,” and 1,262 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, Health Minister Dr. Hassan al-Ghobash announced, according to Syrian state media.  

The total number of injured people in Syria across all affected territories rose to 5,008 [2,258 in government-controlled and 2,750 in the rebel-held area].

Aid agencies and emergency workers say the death toll is likely to increase further with many people still trapped under the rubble, and freezing weather conditions hampering rescue efforts.

CNN’s Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this post.

Access to Twitter has been restricted in Turkey, according to reports by an internet monitoring company and journalists and academics tracking the country’s response to the devastating earthquake this week.

On Wednesday, the network monitoring firm NetBlocks said traffic filtering had been applied at the internet service provider level that was preventing Twitter users from reaching the social media site.  

The report coincided with user claims that Twitter was inaccessible in the country, and as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a tour of the affected region. 

“Widespread reports of Twitter being throttled in Turkey,” tweeted Zeynep Tufekci, a professor at Columbia University who was born in Istanbul and a longtime scholar of large-scale social media usage. Tufekci added that some Twitter users had been expressing “increasing dissatisfaction” with Turkey’s response effort.

Some Twitter users made appeals to Twitter CEO Elon Musk for help, tagging his Twitter handle in an apparent effort to flag the issue for his attention.

CNN has reached out to Twitter for comment.

Turkey’s stock market has sunk 15% in the three days since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, piling further pain onto an already fragile economy.

Trading on Istanbul’s stock exchange was halted Wednesday after the main index dropped 7% in early dealing, according to Turkey’s Central Securities Depository.

The suspension came after the exchange attempted to restore calm by issuing two circuit breakers — a temporary stop in trading to stem panic-selling.

A spokesperson for the exchange did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Remember: Turkey is battling economic crises on several fronts. Annual consumer price inflation peaked at 85.5% in October, before falling back. But in January prices were still a whopping 57.7% higher than in the same month a year before, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. While Turkey’s economy is exposed to the same forces of global inflation as other countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies have aggravated the crisis.

Since September 2021, Turkey’s central bank has cut interest rates as prices have risen, while most of the rest of the world has been increasing rates rapidly to tame inflation.

Last month, the World Bank said it expected Turkey’s economy to grow 2.7% this year, down from 4.7% in 2022.

Rescue operations continue in Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday.

While Turkey has received an outpouring of support and aid from dozens of countries after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, outreach to Syria has been less enthusiastic, and analysts warn that Syrian victims may become hostages of the politics that have divided Syria for over a decade.

Some background: Different parts of Syria are controlled by a different disparate groups. Its regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, is shunned by most Western countries and heavily sanctioned due to its brutal suppression of an uprising there that started in 2011. The regime counts Iran and Russia as its closest allies – both global pariahs.

What are the different groups: Some of the areas of Syria most impacted by the earthquake are controlled by the regime, others by Turkish-backed and US-backed opposition forces, Kurdish rebels and Sunni Islamist fighters. Idlib, one of Syria’s last opposition strongholds, is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization, an armed Sunni Islamist group.

The complications in sending aid: So far, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and India have already sent relief directly to regime-controlled airports. Others such as Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, China, Canada and the Vatican have pledged aid; however it is unclear if that relief will be sent directly to the regime.

The regime insists that all aid to the country, including aid that is meant for areas outside its control, be directed to the capital Damascus. But that hasn’t been received well by activists and observers who fear that the regime could hamper timely aid to thousands of quake victims in rebel-held areas, most of whom are women and children, according to the UN.

Syria’s ministry of foreign affairs did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

“There is likely to be less international assistance provided to opposition areas because that is additionally complicated,” said Charles Lister, senior fellow and director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. “It’s not an area controlled by a sovereign government and makes it difficult for aid operators.”

Workers unload aid sent by Iran at the Aleppo airport on Wednesday.

Algerian rescue teams use a dog as they search the rubble in Aleppo on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by CNN’s Chris Liakos

Six people, including one child, were pulled out of the rubble alive in the 60th hour after an earthquake that struck Turkey on Monday, according to CNN’s sister network CNN Turk.

CNN Turk cameras showed health officials running towards the rubble in Kahramanmaras.

A few minutes later, cameras showed a rescue team officer carrying a young child with short brown curly hair.  

The CNN Turk reporter called the rescue operation a “miracle escape” and “unbelievable.”

The rescue happened in the city center of Kahramanmaras, according to the CNN Turk correspondent. 

A man who evacuated his home warms up next to a fire on a street in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.

More than 298,000 people in Syria have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the deadly earthquake, a local official said, according to state-run news.

Local Administration and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf said the earthquake’s death toll so far has risen to 1,262 and injuries have reached 2,258, in an apparent reference to the parts of Syria under government control and not those held by other factions.

Makhlouf said the government had also opened 180 shelters for displaced people.

“We do not deny the difficulty of the situation compared to the available capabilities. Weather also had an impact on the rescue operations and the provision of relief, but despite this, the relief cadres and doctors did not hesitate to provide all the requirements,” Makhlouf added.

People who evacuated their homes sleep in their vehicle in Aleppo on Wednesday.

People who evacuated their homes stand around a fire in Aleppo on Wednesday.

Fires rage at the Iskendurun port as firefighters try to extinguish the flames in Hatay Province, Turkey, on Wednesday.

Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Wednesday that it is still fighting a blaze at the Iskenderun port.

“Our teams are working continuously at the Iskenderun Port to cool down the fire from air and land,” according to its official Twitter account. 

A firefighter works at the port on Wednesday.

The port of Iskenderun on the Mediterranean coast remained closed following heavy damage from Monday’s earthquake and a subsequent fire that broke out among containers at the terminal. 

Firefighting ships attempt to extinguish the fire on Wednesday.

A firefighting helicopter approaches the fire as smoke rises on Wednesday.

Containers at the port burn on Tuesday.

The fire burns among flipped-over containers on Monday morning, hours after the earthquake struck.

Rescue workers carry Yigit Cakmak from the site of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 8.

A series of dramatic photos show 8-year-old Yigit Cakmak being pulled from the rubble by emergency workers in Hatay, Turkey, 52 hours after the initial earthquake struck the region.

Getty photographer Burak Kara captured the photos of Cakmak as he was freed from the collapsed building.

The boy was passed over debris from rescuer to rescuer until he was finally in the arms of his mother who was waiting at the site.

The moment Cakmak was pulled from the destroyed building.

Cakmak is passed across the rubble by a chain of rescuers.

Cakmak is finally reunited with his mother.

Rescuers search through rubble in Salqin, Syria, on Tuesday.

Syria’s government has ramped up its calls for the removal of economic US and EU sanctions in the aftermath of Monday’s earthquake.

Relief groups working from government-controlled areas in Syria have pinned the lack of heavy machinery and medical equipment needed to remove rubble and treat the injured on the Western sanctions.

The measures were imposed on Syria to pressure the regime into a political process that could put an end to the ongoing civil conflict.

Some context: Most of the Syrian quake casualties have been reported in the northwest of the country, predominantly in the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, according to the state news agency, SANA.

This region was already struggling to rebuild vital infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the UN estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011.

Half of northwestern Syria’s 4.6 million population have been forced out of their homes by the conflict, with 1.7 million now living in tents and refugee camps in the region, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.

Several parts of northwestern Syria, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

On Wednesday, the Syrian government’s foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, called on Europe to send aid, saying that sanctions should not be used “as an excuse.”

“Sending aid from Europe does not need to undergo a bureaucratic process. International law states that humanitarian aid is not be not subject to sanctions, so this is no excuse,” Mekdad told Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen.

When asked whether the regime will allow aid into rebel-controlled territories, the Syrian government said that international aid will be distributed only by the Syrian government. 

“The Syrian state is ready to allow aid to enter into all regions, provided that it does not reach terrorist armed groups,” Mekdad said.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that: “in Syria, we have a partner in the form of NGOs on the ground who are providing humanitarian support.”

“These partners, who unlike the Syrian regime, are there to help the people rather than brutalize them,” Price added.

CNN’s Rhea Mogul, Isil Sariyuce, Gul Tuysuz and Jack Guy contributed reporting.

A rescue worker from Germany's fire and rescue service and a Turkish officer handle equipment outside Adana Airport, Turkey, on Tuesday,

International leaders have pledged to send help to Turkey and Syria after a deadly earthquake ripped through the region Monday, leaving thousands of casualties and collapsed buildings in its wake.

Aid workers are struggling to access victims of the powerful quake in northwestern Syria amid conflict and political crisis in the country.

Here are Wednesday’s latest developments:

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, center left, in blue, and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, center right, visit Hatay, Turkey, in the aftermath of the earthquake, on Wednesday, February 8.

The Turkish government has established 77 field hospitals in 10 provinces that were hit by the earthquake Monday, as freezing weather conditions hamper rescue efforts across Turkey and Syria.

“We can also perform surgical operations in some of these hospitals where emergency health services are provided,” Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted Wednesday.

“Our earthquake victims with risky health conditions are transferred to the hospitals in the region by helicopters after the first response,” he added. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting areas heavily struck by the deadly quake, having declared a three-month state of emergency in the 10 provinces on Tuesday.

Volunteers and city council workers prepare donated goods to be driven 12 hours from the Topbaş Performance and Art Center in Istanbul to the disaster-hit areas. 

Organized chaos is the order of the day at this Istanbul aid collection and distribution center.

A CNN team saw volunteers darting in and out of the alleys of boxes and household goods in the Topbaş Performance and Art Center in the Yenikapi district of Turkey’s biggest city, where wheelbarrows were stacked high with nappies and cakes.

Everything from toilet paper to excavators have been channeled through the center after it transformed into a donations hub two days ago, hours after the earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday. Contributions have poured in from major firms and individuals alike, with a focus on the essentials of survival: food, water and clothing. 

Snow is beginning to settle on the car park outside, where 53 cargo trucks have departed for the southern Hatay province since Monday. Regular arrivals of families bring in portable heaters, carpets and even baby strollers, the everyday essentials of life ripped away from their compatriots by the earthquake.

The neon jackets of the council workers glint among the masses of some 2,000 volunteers crowding the tables, where volunteers process donations from across the city. 

“It’s a horrible situation but it also gives hope,” Esra Huri Bulduk, a city council aid coordinator, told CNN.

“The volunteers are working so hard,” she said of the locals staffing the center, which is running 24/7.

“We have seen mothers bringing baby food they bought for their child, to donate,” Bulduk added.

Smaller trucks ferry goods in and out of the three cavernous hangers that make up the exhibition center; some 5,000 sets of clothes for men, women and children have been shipped out, alongside nearly 3,000 hygiene kits and 10,000 food packets.

Three excavators, 90 generators and 26 pieces of construction machinery have also been shipped out for the 12-hour drive to the disaster zone. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the press at a tent city set up for quake survivors in Kahramanmaras on February 8.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government’s target is to rebuild the southern region of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of Monday’s deadly earthquake, “in one year.”

“We can never let our citizens stay on the streets,” Erdogan said Wednesday while speaking from an emergency relief area set up by the country’s disaster management agency. 

“Our state is using all its resources with AFAD (Turkey’s disaster management agency) and municipalities. We will continue to do so.”

The president said the government is planning to give 10,000 Turkish liras (around $531 USD) to help families impacted by the quake, and has organized hotels for citizens to stay in, if they want to. 

Erdogan also acknowledged the government “had some problems” clearing blocked roads and providing natural gas to cities and aid workers, which prevented rescuers from reaching collapsed buildings in order to retrieve survivors.

However, he said the situation is now “under control.” “We are in better place today, will be even better tomorrow,” Erdogan added.

A cold weather blast across Turkey and Syria has complicated the search for survivors, as freezing temperatures are increasing the risk of hypothermia for those stuck underneath the rubble.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived at an emergency relief area in the southern city of Kahramanmaras near the epicenter of Monday’s powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake. 

Tents have been set up at the site by the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD,

Erdogan landed in the region earlier Wednesday ahead of his trip to areas heavily impacted by the disaster, as rescue teams search for survivors amid freezing weather conditions.

The Turkish leader is expected to then visit the town of Pazarcık – which suffered major damage following the quake – state-run news agency Anadolu said. Erdogan is scheduled to visit the province of Hatay later.

He declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces Tuesday.

Earthquake survivors wait for their relatives to be saved in the city of Jandairis, Syria, on Wednesday.

A combination of freezing weather and destroyed infrastructure is hampering rescue efforts in northwestern Syria, as aid workers struggle to access victims of the powerful earthquake amid conflict and political crisis there, a top charity official has told CNN.

“It is a difficult area for humanitarians, but over the years … we’ve learned to steer away on political issues and focus on humanitarian assistance,” Johan Mooij, the Syria Response director for World Vision, told CNN’s Bianca Nobilo.

World Vision has staff stationed inside Syria to ease access to disaster-stricken regions, Mooij said.

Rescuers from the charity are working to provide shelter to survivors who have lost their homes. The loss of electricity lines, water and sewer systems have compounded the affects of the earthquake, Mooij added.

The region was already struggling to restore key infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the United Nations estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011.

The cold weather conditions in Turkey and Syria are also hampering aid efforts on both sides of the border, putting the lives of those trapped underneath the rubble, who have already gone days without food and water, at risk of hypothermia.

“This area was affected by so many disasters already in the last couple of years. And we talk about the war, we talk about displacement, Covid. There’s been quite a bit cholera. And now, this. 

“People feel they are getting pretty desperate, and see no way out.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has landed in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey ahead of his trip to areas heavily impacted by Monday’s deadly earthquake, as the country reels from the deadly disaster.

Erdogan is expected to stop by an emergency relief area with tents during his visit to Kahramanmaraş city center and then go to the town of Pazarcık – which suffered major damage following the quake – state-run news agency Anadolu said.

He is scheduled to visit the province of Hatay later.

The Turkish leader on Tuesday declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces, as freezing weather conditions hamper rescue efforts.

Sanctions against Syria from the United States and European Union are preventing urgent aid from reaching those in need following the devastating earthquake, the country’s representative to the United Nations said Tuesday.

Bassam added that search and rescue efforts were being impeded by the lack of aid, saying: “Of course the lack of equipment, the lack of capabilities in the government, it’s there, because of the situation and because of the sanctions.”

He appealed for all UN member countries to help.

“All Syria need this assistance, so whenever and whatever we receive, it will be for all Syrians,” he said.

Some context: Most of the casualties in Syria have been reported in the northwest of the country, predominantly in the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, according to the state news agency, SANA.

This region was already struggling to rebuild vital infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the UN estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011.

Half of northwestern Syria’s 4.6 million population have been forced out of their homes by the conflict, with 1.7 million now living in tents and refugee camps in the region, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF. Last year, the agency reported that 3.3 million Syrians in the area were food insecure.

Several parts of northwestern Syria, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

Search-and-rescue efforts continue through cold weather conditions in Malatya, Turkey, on February 7.

Rescue efforts are growing “harder” due to bitterly cold weather in Turkey and Syria, experts warned, while workers have not been able to access all the disaster areas — raising fears for many trapped under rubble

A cold and wet weather system moving through the region has seen temperatures plummet below freezing, jeopardizing the search for survivors on both sides of the border.

Cold weather ahead: Temperatures are already bitterly low, but are forecast to fall several degrees below zero on Wednesday.

Central Turkey is at its “coldest point” for this time of the year, CNN’s senior meteorologist Britley Ritz said.

Meanwhile, in Aleppo, Syria, temperatures are expected to stay at zero or below.

Scattered showers and snow in the region are expected to continue, putting the lives of those trapped underneath the rubble, who have already gone days without food and water, at risk of hypothermia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit areas impacted by Monday’s powerful earthquake, as rescue workers persevere with their mission to free people trapped under the rubble.

His visit will include the city of Kahramanmaraş and Hatay province near the powerful quake’s epicenter, according to the Turkish president’s office.

Erdogan earlier declared a three-month long state of emergency in 10 provinces.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria is now at least 8,764, according to officials.

In Turkey, 349 more deaths were reported Wednesday, bringing the total in the country to 6,234, according to Turkish officials. At least 34,810 people have been injured in Turkey, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday.

In Syria, 2,530 fatalities have been confirmed in both government-controlled areas and rebel-held regions. A total of 4,654 injuries have been reported across Syria.

Agencies and rescue workers have warned the figures are likely to rise higher, especially in Syria, with many people still trapped under the rubble.

This post has been updated with the latest figures.

Destruction is seen in Hatay's city center on February 7.

The colossal mission to find survivors in Gaziantep has been ongoing for more than 50 hours, with some rescuers using nothing more than their hands to dig through concrete and debris in the southern Turkish city.

A CNN team on the ground said rescuers are still receiving signs of life from what they believe is a “void” underneath a large pile of rubble.

Bulldozers and workers wearing helmets are ploughing through the mountainous pile of broken concrete, as plumes of dust surround them.

But they are worried about the infrastructure of buildings either side the rubble, which have been compromised following Monday’s devastating quake — and could still collapse.

Global response: An outpouring of international support and aid has flown into Turkey and Syria, but access to many affected areas remains a challenge. Search teams have found it difficult to navigate blocked roads and collapsed buildings, while experiencing frequent violent aftershocks.

Emergency workers search for people in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey, on February 7.

A structural engineer and humanitarian coordinator has urged rescuers in Turkey and Syria not to give up hope as survivors could be found up to “weeks” after the massive earthquake hit the region.

Speaking to CNN’s Becky Anderson on Wednesday, president of non-profit Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief, Kit Miyamoto, praised the community in Turkey who came together and “did their part” after the quake struck Monday.

The Turkish government has been preparing for a disaster as destructive as this one for the past two decades but challenges have made search and rescue efforts difficult, Miyamoto said.

Countries and organizations from around the world have responded to the crisis with donations of money and equipment as rescue workers arrive in Turkey and Syria to help with the recovery operations. NATO said its members are sending more than 1,400 emergency response personnel, while a US rescue team is expect to land in the Turkish city of Adana today.

Four Australians are unaccounted for following Monday’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the country’s foreign minister said Thursday.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to their families, Wong added.

Australian search and rescue teams consisting of 72 personnel will be deployed to Turkey to assist, Wong said.

“These are urban search and rescue specialists, highly trained to locate, deliver medical assistance to, and remove victims who have been trapped or impacted by structural collapse,” Wong said. 

Two children lie wedged between concrete, their heads pinned to one side, as rescuers reassure them that help has arrived 36 hours after a quake destroyed their home in northern Syria.

A rescuer replies, “No, no.”

Video shows rescuers squatting in the rubble of the children’s home in Besnaya-Bseineh, a small village near Haram, Syria, as they try to figure out a safe way to remove them.

They tell them to be strong and not to cry.

The girl’s name is Mariam, and she gently strokes the hair on her younger sibling’s head as they lie squashed together in what could be the remains of their bed. The younger child’s name is Ilaaf, according to their father — an Islamic name that means protection.

Mustafa Zuhir Al-Sayed says his wife and three children were sleeping in the early hours of Monday when the earth shook with a 7.8-magnitude quake, the biggest to hit the region in more than a century of records.

Read more:

Related article 'Get me out of here ... I'll be your servant': Trapped girl's plea to rescuers from rubble of Syrian home | CNN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month long state of emergency in 10 provinces as rescuers race against time in Turkey and Syria following Monday’s devastating earthquake.

As support arrives from around the world, the scale of the humanitarian crisis is becoming clearer and aid agencies are warning of the difficulties in both reaching survivors and treating the injured.

Here’s the latest:

Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake's epicentre, the day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on February 7.

Heartbreaking photos show a father in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, clutching the lifeless hand of his daughter after she was crushed under concrete in Monday’s devastating earthquake.

Mesut Hancer, sitting hunched amid the ruins, can be seen holding onto his 15-year-old child while her body remains trapped beneath the rubble.

Broken glass, destroyed furniture and twisted steel surround the family, as workers conduct a colossal rescue mission in near freezing temperatures.

Nearly 8,000 people have now been confirmed dead and some 40,000 others injured following Monday’s quake, according to officials in Turkey and Syria.

Survivors are still being pulled from the rubble more than 48 hours after the quake hit, crushing thousands under their homes.

The rescue of a 14-year-old boy in Kahramanmaras broadcast live on air on Tuesday offered a glimmer of hope that others will survive, but the death toll continues to climb as search teams navigate blocked roads, collapsed infrastructure and violent aftershocks.

The aftermath of the earthquake is seen in Hatay, Turkey, on Tuesday.

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday has risen to at least 7,926 people, according to officials.

The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the “White Helmets,” said on Tuesday that the number of fatalities in rebel-held areas in northwest Syria rose to 1,220 and the number of injured people rose to 2,600.

A man walks down the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Tuesday.

Those figures are “expected to rise significantly due to the presence of hundreds of families under the rubble,” the group added.

Women mourn next to bodies on the back of a truck in Jandaris, Syria, on Tuesday.

At least 812 deaths have been confirmed in government-controlled parts of Syria, state media SANA reported.

In Turkey, at least 5,894 people are dead and 34,810 injured, Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay said on Tuesday.

Mexico’s famous rescue dogs are headed to Turkey following the catastrophic earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday.   

Mexico is famous for its highly trained and specialized search and rescue dogs. The canines are used frequently in Mexico, a country prone to earthquakes due to its location at the edge of the North American tectonic plate.   

Julia, Ecko, Orly, Timba, Rex and July are among the 16 dogs who took off Tuesday morning from Mexico City and headed toward Turkey.  

Under the instructions of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a specialized inter-institutional urban search and rescue team made up of 150 people, which includes USAR-accredited personnel from the Ministries of Defense, Navy, and the Mexican Red Cross were dispatched Tuesday, according to a news release from Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.  

The team of dogs will land in Adana, a major southern city near the epicenter of the earthquake, according to the statement.  

Read more here.

The road leading to the only humanitarian aid border crossing between Turkey and Syria has been damaged by Monday’s earthquake, hampering relief efforts, the United Nations said Tuesday.  

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, said at a briefing the crossing is “actually intact” and continues to be used as a trans-shipment hub.

However, he said the road leading to the crossing has been damaged and that’s “temporarily disrupted our ability to fully use it.”

The Bab al-Hawa is the only humanitarian aid corridor approved by the UN between Syria and Turkey.  

In January, Guterres described the land crossing as an “indispensable lifeline” after the UN Security Council voted to renew the cross-border mechanism a day before it was set to expire. 

When the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey, its impact could be felt as far as Israel and Lebanon — hundreds of kilometers away.

The power of an earthquake is known as magnitude. On the magnitude scale, each increase of one whole number translates to 32 times more energy.

Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes. Seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck the country in the past 25 years — but Monday’s was one of the most powerful.

Here’s how strong Turkey’s quakes have been in more than 80 years:

Collapsed buildings in Islahiye, Turkey, can be seen in this satellite image.

Collapsed buildings, emergency vehicles and tent shelters can be seen in new satellite imagery of earthquake-hit towns in Turkey, revealing the damage from Monday’s devastating earthquake.

The images, captured by Maxar Technologies, show the towns of Islahiye and Nurdagi.

In Islahiye, dozens of buildings across the city have collapsed. In the city center, a group of residential buildings just west of the Hacı Ali Öztürk mosque appear flattened.

Islahiye, Turkey is seen before the earthquake.

See more photos here.

The United Nations says nearly 70% of Syria’s population was in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake — an issue that has only been compounded by the tragedy.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Syria and the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis said: “This tragedy will have a devastating impact on many vulnerable families who struggle to provide for their loved ones on a daily basis.” 

The UN and humanitarian partners say they are currently focusing on immediate needs, including food, shelter, non-food items and medicine.

Members of the Syrian civil defense, known as the White Helmets, transport a casualty from the rubble of buildings in the village of Azmarin in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on February 7.

The situation on the ground following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria on Monday is “more disastrous” in Syria, according to the country director in Gaziantep, Turkey, for the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation (SAMS).

“It’s a disastrous situation both in Turkey and Syria — although in Syria it’s more disastrous,” Dr. Bachir Tajaldin told CNN on Tuesday. 

Remember: Northwestern Syria, which has been impacted by the earthquake, has been struggling since the country’s civil war. Several parts, including Idlib, are still controlled by anti-government rebels.

Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes, as it is situated along tectonic plate boundaries.

CNN meteorologist and severe weather expert Chad Myers said, “we always talk about the epicenter, but in this case we should talk about the epi-line.”

Two massive tectonic plates — the Arabian and the Eurasian — meet underneath Turkey’s southeastern provinces. Along this fault line, “about 100 miles from one side to the other, the earth slipped,” Myers continued.

Seismologists refer to this event as a “strike slip” — “where the plates are touching, and all of a sudden they slide sideways,” Myers said.

In a “strike slip,” the plates move horizontally, rather than vertically. “Why that matters is because the buildings don’t want to go back and forth. And then the secondary waves begin to go back and forth as well,” Myers added.

Because of the nature of this seismic event, aftershocks could last “for weeks and months,” according to CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis.

One of Turkey’s more than 100 aftershocks, as recorded by US Geological Survey, measured at 7.5.

The devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria on Monday have damaged important historic sites, including the ancient city of Aleppo in northwest Syria which was already “in danger” from civil war.

The city, which was added to the the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 1986, has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013 due to Syria’s ongoing conflict, along with five other sites in the country.

UNESCO said Tuesday it would provide assistance to damaged heritage sites in Syria and Turkey and offered condolences to the families of victims of the disaster.

The UN cultural organization was “particularly concerned” about the situation in the ancient city of Aleppo.

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Aleppo's ancient citadel is damaged following a deadly earthquake that shook Syria on February 6, 2023. - At least 810 people were killed in Syria as buildings collapsed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Turkey, state media and rescuers said. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article UNESCO site 'in danger' faces greater peril after earthquake | CNN

International football player Christian Atsu has been found alive and is in “stable condition” at a local hospital following Monday’s earthquake in southern Turkey, the Ghana Football Association and Atsu’s agent said on Tuesday.

Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere, told CNN on Tuesday that his client was in a “stable” condition at a local hospital after being successfully rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building. Atsu was not immediately accounted for in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor in Turkey, had been celebrating on Sunday night after he scored a last minute winner in his club’s 1-0 home league game against Kasimpasa, his agent said.

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Two women walk past debris in an area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, Japan, on April 7, 2011.

Turkey and Syria are reeling as the death toll continues to climb after Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake, with nearly 8,000 people already reported dead across the two countries.

In comparison with other large earthquakes around the world, the 2011 Japan quake and tsunami — in which more than 22,000 people were killed or went missing — registered a magnitude of 9.1.

That incident left widespread destruction in its wake after walls of water engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways and caused the country’s worst nuclear disaster on record.

A year before, in 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti is estimated to have killed between 220,000 to 300,000. A further 300,000 people were injured, and millions were displaced.

In 2004, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 9.1 struck the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that left 227,898 people dead or listed as missing and presumed dead.

The strongest earthquake on record was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960, according to the United States Geological Survey.