Death toll surpasses 21,000 in the Turkey, Syria Earthquakes

Since the Monday earthquakes in Turkey and Syria more than 21,000 people have lost their lives and there are people still stuck under the rubble. The exact number of deaths are still unconfirmed due to the ongoing rescue missions.

The people affected by the calamity are losing hope of finding their loved ones anymore and a sense of fear is prevalent in their minds. The people who have lost their homes are spending days in temporary shelters which isn’t doing much to save them for the freezing cold winter. The situation is both the countries is such that if people are saved from dying due to the suffocation under the rubble, they may end of dying of hypothermia.

The earthquake that has been called by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the “the disaster of the century” and has declared an emergency in the effected cities of Turkey. He has received a lot of flak for the way he handled the disastrous situation and finally on Wednesday, he accepted ‘the shortcomings’ and said, “The conditions are clear to see. It’s not possible to be ready for a disaster like this.”  After 72 hours of the natural disaster, the first UN aid reached Syria to help rescue the people stuck under the rubble since Monday morning.

On Thursday, The World Bank and United States pledged a donation of $1.78bn and $85m respectively.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the full extent of the catastrophe was still “unfolding before our eyes” and has promised more help to the affected countries.

Regarding the current situation in Turkey and Syria the UN chief said, “This is the moment of unity, it’s not a moment to politicise or to divide but it is obvious that we need massive support.”