Turkey-Syria earthquake claims 2,300 lives, rescue efforts ongoing

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About 2,300 people have been killed and thousands more injured after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early yesterday.

Officials updated  the death toll as rescue efforts continued, according to CNN.

The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years, struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

Multiple strong aftershocks have been felt across the region for hours after the first quake, including a severe quake measuring magnitude 7.5. Turkey’s disaster agency appealed for help from the international community as it conducts search and rescue operations.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it was, “launching immediate cash assistance” from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund to help relief efforts in both countries.

Many other organisations were also on the ground responding. CNN’s Impact Your World has gathered ways to help victims of the massive earthquake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, yesterday  and pledged Moscow’s assistance in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, according to a Kremlin readout.

Putin expressed, “deep condolences over the devastating earthquakes” to Erdogan and “reaffirmed his readiness to immediately provide the Turkish partners with the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of this natural disaster,” the readout said.

According to the Russian readout, Erdogan “warmly thanked” Putin and said that he was instructing the competent departments of the country to accept the help of Russian rescuers.

In a conversation with Assad, Putin also conveyed his condolences and “offered to provide the Syrian side with the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of this disaster” which Assad accepted, according to the Kremlin…