A collapsed building in Hatay in Turkey. Rescuers are still trying to lift piles of rubble in many areas in a desperate search for more survivors. Photo: AFP
The death toll from earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria this week passed 15,000 on Thursday amid anger from those left destitute and frustrated over the slow arrival of rescue teams.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who will contest an election in May, said on a visit to the disaster zone on Wednesday that operations were now working normally and promised no one would be left homeless.
Across a swathe of southern Turkey, people sought temporary shelter and food in freezing winter weather, and waited in anguish by piles of rubble where family and friends might still lie buried.
The confirmed death toll in Turkey rose to 12,391 by Thursday morning, the Disaster Management Authority said, up more than 30 percent on Wednesday's toll.
Rescuers were still finding some people alive. But many Turks have complained of a lack of equipment, expertise and support to rescue those trapped - sometimes even as they could hear cries for help.
"Where is the state? Where have they been for two days? We are begging them. Let us do it, we can get them out," Sabiha Alinak said on Wednesday near a snow-covered collapsed building in the city of Malatya where her young relatives were trapped.
People stand near a bonfire amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, on February 8, 2023, two days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey. Photo: AFP
There were similar scenes and complaints in neighbouring Syria, whose north was hard hit by Monday's huge quake and where the death toll had climbed to at least 2950 by Wednesday, according to the government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations admitted the government had a "lack of capabilities and lack of equipment," blaming more than a decade of civil war in his country and Western sanctions.
The death toll from both countries was expected to rise as hundreds of collapsed buildings in many cities have become tombs for people who had been asleep when the quake hit.
In the Turkish city of Antakya, dozens of bodies, some covered in blankets and sheets and others in body bags, were lined up on the ground outside a hospital.
Melek, 64, bemoaned the lack of rescue teams. "We survived the earthquake, but we will die here due to hunger or cold."
Many in the disaster zone had slept in their cars or in the streets under blankets in freezing cold, fearful of going back into buildings shaken by the 7.8 magnitude tremor - Turkey's deadliest since 1999 - and by a second powerful quake hours later.
Turkish authorities released video of rescued survivors, including a young girl in pyjamas, and an older man covered in dust, an unlit cigarette between his fingers as he was pulled from the debris.
Turkish officials say some 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450km from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir in the east. In Syria, people were killed as far south as Hama, 250km from the epicentre.
Some who died in Turkey were refugees from Syria's war. Their body bags arrived at the border in taxis, vans and piled atop flatbed trucks to be taken to final resting places in their homeland.
More than 298,000 people have been made homeless and 180 shelters for the displaced have been opened, Syrian state media reported, apparently referring to areas under government control, and not held by opposition factions.
In Syria, relief efforts were complicated by a conflict that has partitioned the nation and wrecked its infrastructure.
The delivery of UN humanitarian aid via Turkey to millions of people in northwest Syria could resume on Thursday after the long-running operation was halted by the quake, UN officials said.
Election impact
Erdogan, who declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces and sent troops to help, visited Kahramanmaras on Wednesday to view the damage and see the rescue and relief effort.
Speaking to reporters, a wail of ambulance sirens in the background, he said there had been problems with roads and airports but "we are better today".
"We will be better tomorrow and later. We still have some issues with fuel ... but we will overcome those too," Erdogan said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to the press during his visit to the southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras. Photo: AFP
Nevertheless, the disaster will pose a challenge to Erdogan in the May election that was already set to be the toughest fight of his two decades in power.
Any perception that the government was failing to address the disaster properly could hurt his prospects. Conversely, analysts said he could rally national support around the crisis response and strengthen his position.
Twitter disrupted
Access to Twitter in Turkey has been restored, the NetBlocks internet observatory said on Thursday, following talks between the company and Turkish authorities about content posted after a major earthquake this week.
Access to Twitter was restricted on Wednesday, sparking protests by political opposition figures, academics and activists, two days after the quake hit the country and northern Syria, claiming thousands of lives.
"Metrics confirm access to Twitter is being restored in Turkey following hours of filtering," NetBlocks said on its Twitter account.
Turkey's deputy transportation and infrastructure minister Omer Fatih Sayan said that in talks with Twitter management, he had reminded Twitter of its responsibilities and had conveyed expectation of cooperation on fighting disinformation as earthquake relief work continued.
"Our demands are clear, strong cooperation on disinformation and false reports, swift action against fake accounts and ... measures against content that could damage public order and security," Sayan said on Twitter.
Earlier on Wednesday, Twitter chief executive Elon Musk said the company had been informed by the government of Turkey that full access to the social media platform in the country will be re-enabled "shortly".
"Twitter has been informed by the Turkish government that access will be re-enabled shortly," Musk said in a post on Twitter, without providing further details on timing.
Turkish people have taken to Twitter since the earthquake to post information about loved ones they cannot reach, reports of collapsed buildings and coordination for aid.
-Reuters
