Turkey-Syria Earthquake Death Toll Climbs to 24,000
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The death toll from a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria surpassed 24,000 on Saturday as rescue efforts continue.
The number of deaths in Turkey rose to 20,665 on Saturday while more than 3,500 were killed in Syria.
The United Nations says up to 5.3 million people in Syria may be homeless after the earthquakes, while nearly 900,000 people are in urgent need of hot food in Turkey and Syria.
The Syrian government has approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to quake-hit areas outside its control, according to state media.
Turkey says it is working to open two new routes into rebel-held parts of Syria.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) is appealing for $77m to provide food rations and hot meals to a total of 874,000 people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
Those in dire need of hot food in the region’s bitterly cold winter conditions include 284,000 newly displaced people in Syria and 590,000 people in Turkey, including 45,000 refugees and 545,000 internally displaced people.
“For the thousands of people affected by the earthquakes, food is one of the top needs right now and our priority is to get it to the people who need it fast,” WFP Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Corinne Fleischer said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the European football body UEFA are among the sporting federations providing financial aid for those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Al Jazeera reported.
The IOC created an emergency fund and will donate $1m to help those affected by the disaster in Turkey and Syria, the IOC said on Friday.