Nearly 32,000 dead from powerful twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors last week were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

More than 249,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said.

Almost 195,962 people have been evacuated from the quake-hit regions so far, according to AFAD.

A total of 9,315 foreign personnel from 80 nations are currently working in the disaster zone, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Photo:Mahmut Serdar Alakus - Anadolu Agency