Freezing temperatures deepened the misery on Thursday for survivors of the massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing at least 15,000 people. Rescuers raced to save countless individuals still trapped under rubble, but the death toll is expected to rise sharply as the rescue effort approaches the 72‑hour mark, which disaster experts consider the most critical period for saving lives. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan conceded on Wednesday that there were “shortcomings” in his government’s response after facing criticism for handling one of the deadliest quakes of the century. Survivors have been left scrambling for food and shelter, often watching helplessly as relatives call for rescue and then fall silent beneath the debris.
In Turkey’s Hatay province, kindergarten teacher Semire Coban described the anguish of waiting for help: “My nephew, my sister‑in‑law and my sister‑in‑law’s sister are in the ruins. They are trapped under the ruins and there is no sign of life… We can’t reach them. We are trying to talk to them, but they are not responding… We are waiting for help. It has been 48 hours now.” Despite the rising death toll, rescuers continued to pull survivors from the wreckage. As criticism mounted online, Erdoğan visited the hardest‑hit area, the quake’s epicentre in Kahramanmaraş, and acknowledged the problems: “Of course, there are shortcomings. The conditions are clear to see. It’s not possible to be ready for a disaster like this.”
Communication networks were severely disrupted; Twitter was not working on Turkish mobile networks, according to AFP journalists and the NetBlocks monitoring group. Turkish police also detained 18 people over “provocative” social‑media posts that criticised the government’s response.
Temperatures plunged to minus five degrees Celsius (23 °F) in Gaziantep early Thursday, yet the cold did not stop thousands of families from spending the night in cars and makeshift tents, too scared or banned from returning to their homes. Parents walked the streets of the southeastern city, close to the epicentre, carrying their children in blankets because it was warmer than sitting in a tent. “When we sit down, it is painful, and I fear for anyone who is trapped under the rubble in this,” said Melek Halici, who wrapped her two‑year‑old daughter in a blanket while watching rescuers work late into Wednesday night.
Officials and medics reported 12,391 deaths in Turkey and at least 2,992 in neighboring Syria, bringing the total to 15,383. Experts fear the number will continue to climb sharply. In Brussels, the EU is planning a donor conference in March to mobilise international aid for both countries. “We are now racing against the clock to save lives together,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter. “No one should be left alone when a tragedy like this hits a people.”
Survivors in rebel‑held areas of Syria felt abandoned. “Even the buildings that haven’t collapsed were severely damaged. There are now more people under the rubble than those above it,” said a resident named Hassan from the town of Jindayris. “There are around 400‑500 people trapped under each collapsed building, with only 10 people trying to pull them out. And there is no machinery.” The White Helmets, leading rescue efforts in these areas, appealed for international help in their “race against time.” A senior UN official called for the facilitation of aid to rebel‑held northwest Syria, warning that relief stocks would soon be depleted. “Put politics aside and let us do our humanitarian work,” UN resident coordinator El‑Mostafa Benlamlih told AFP.
The issue of aid to Syria is delicate. The sanctioned government in Damascus made an official plea to the EU, according to Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic. A decade of civil war and Syrian‑Russian aerial bombardment has already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy, and caused electricity, fuel, and water shortages. The European Commission is encouraging member states to respond to Syria’s request for medical supplies and food while monitoring to ensure aid is not diverted by President Bashar al‑Assad’s government. Dozens of nations, including the United States, China, and Gulf states, have pledged assistance, and search teams and relief supplies have already arrived.
The EU swiftly dispatched rescue teams to Turkey after the quake, but initially offered only minimal assistance to Syria because of sanctions imposed since 2011 over the Assad government’s crackdown on protesters. The Turkey‑Syria border is one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. Monday’s quake was the largest Turkey has experienced since 1939, when 33,000 people died in eastern Erzincan province, and follows the 1999 magnitude‑7.4 quake that killed more than 17,000.
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