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Turkey and Syria mourn quake victims as death toll tops 15,000

Key updates
Twitter access to be ‘reenabled shortly’ in Turkey
At least three U.S. citizens killed in earthquakes
Social media gives glimpse into hunt for Syria, Turkey quake survivors
International rescue teams and aid started to arrive in Turkey and Syria, after at least two massive earthquakes struck near the Turkish-Syrian border on Feb. 6 (Video: The Washington Post)
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Updated February 9, 2023 at 12:59 a.m. EST|Published February 8, 2023 at 12:00 a.m. EST
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The death toll in Turkey and Syria has surpassed 15,000 people in the world’s deadliest earthquake disaster in more than a decade. The number of victims is climbing quickly two days after earthquakes leveled cities and towns in both countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in his country’s earthquake-shattered south on Wednesday as rescue workers in neighboring Syria said that they had found colleagues among the dead.

Temperatures in Gaziantep, near the epicenter in southern Turkey, dropped into the low 20s overnight. In Syria, areas already battling for access to foreign aid amid a years-long humanitarian crisis faced complex barriers in seeking assistance.

Twitter access to be ‘reenabled shortly’ in Turkey
At least three U.S. citizens killed in earthquakes
Social media gives glimpse into hunt for Syria, Turkey quake survivors

Here’s what else to know

  • Turkey’s disaster management agency reported that 12,391 people were killed and 62,914 others were injured, according to Turkish state media. In government-held parts of Syria, at least 1,262 people were killed and 2,285 injured, according to state media. Rescuers in rebel-held northwestern Syria recorded more than 1,780 deaths and 2,700 people injured.
  • Washington Post journalists in the Turkish town of Nurdagi described districts reduced to heaps of rubble, dozens of bodies piled outside a hospital and a full morgue. The state air carrier, Turkish Airlines, said it had evacuated almost 20,000 people from the disaster zone, with an additional 30,000 passengers slated to fly that day.
  • Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake was followed by dozens of aftershocks, including an unusually powerful 7.5-magnitude quake, which divided experts on whether to call it an aftershock.
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Here's what to know:

Turkey’s disaster management agency reported that 12,391 people were killed and 62,914 others were injured, according to Turkish state media. In government-held parts of Syria, at least 1,262 people were killed and 2,285 injured, according to state media. Rescuers in rebel-held northwestern Syria recorded more than 1,780 deaths and 2,700 people injured.
Washington Post journalists in the Turkish town of Nurdagi described districts reduced to heaps of rubble, dozens of bodies piled outside a hospital and a full morgue. The state air carrier, Turkish Airlines, said it had evacuated almost 20,000 people from the disaster zone, with an additional 30,000 passengers slated to fly that day.
Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake was followed by dozens of aftershocks, including an unusually powerful 7.5-magnitude quake, which divided experts on whether to call it an aftershock.

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