February 7, 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake news

By Tara Subramaniam, Sana Noor Haq, Christian Edwards, Ed Upright, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Mike Hayes, Tori B. Powell and Elise Hammond, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, February 8, 2023
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8:32 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Turkish President Erdogan says hotels in Antalya will house earthquake survivors 

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said some hotels in Antalya, Turkey, will house earthquake survivors.

"Starting from places close to the disaster area, the necessary plans are being made to put the hotels that have already suspended their activities due to the winter season to serve the disaster victims," Erdogan said in a speech on Tuesday. "Only in the Antalya region, 50,000 beds have been prepared for this purpose."

About 8,000 people were rescued from the rubble so far, Erdogan noted.

Here are the other aid and recovery efforts he detailed in his speech:

  • The injured people who were treated after being rescued were sent to hospitals in other parts of our country, especially in Mersin, Istanbul and Ankara.
  • So far, 54,000 tents and 102,000 beds have been sent to the regions, and 53,317 rescue personnel are working in the earthquake zone.
  • Satellite transmission terminals were sent to the region in order to ensure that there is no interruption in communication.
9:44 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Global community pledges help to Turkey and Syria as rescue efforts continue

From CNN staff

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Tuesday.
Rescuers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Tuesday. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

Aid from around the world is heading toward Turkey and Syria, as rescuers locate survivors in the debris of collapsed buildings following Monday's deadly earthquake.

Some 70 countries and 14 international organizations have offered to help in search and rescue operations for Turkey, the country's President Recep Tayyip Ergodan said Tuesday.

Here's a round-up of some of the latest pledges:

  • A Hungarian rescue team of 50 people, including five military doctors and two search dogs, landed in Adana, southern Turkey, overnight and is now headed for the province of Hatay, according to the Hungarian government.
  • South Korea plans to offer humanitarian aid worth $5 million to Turkey and send about 110 disaster relief workers and military personnel to support its search and rescue work, its foreign ministry said Tuesday.
  • The Palestinian International Cooperation Agency will deploy 70 experts to the quake zone later this week, sending two crews comprised of the civil defence, the ministry of health, the Palestinian Red Cross, doctors and engineers.
  • Palestinian Red Crescent teams are also carrying out earthquake rescue and relief operations in Palestinian refugee camps and the surrounding areas in Syria, the aid agency said Tuesday. At least three Palestinian refugee camps in Syria were struck by the quake.
  • Pakistan has deployed two contingents of emergency services to Turkey, including a search and rescue team, sniffer dogs, army doctors and nursing staff.
  • China said it will send 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) worth of aid to Turkey, while also coordinating with Syria for emergency supplies and accelerating ongoing food aid projects.
  • Two Israeli aid groups chartered a special flight to Gaziantep on Tuesday to bring personnel and equipment to victims. On board will be at least 10 search and rescue specialists, alongside more than a dozen doctors, paramedics, a water expert and mental health specialists, according to officials.
  • Germany’s Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is sending a team of 50 recovery experts to Turkey Tuesday. The team is leaving from Cologne/Bonn airport shortly and is made up of specialists from the Rapid Deployment Unit for Foreign Recovery (SEEBA), THW added.
  • The Dalai Lama committed to sending rescue and relief efforts on Tuesday, having written to the Executive Director of the World Food Programme and asked his Gaden Phodrang Foundation to make the donation.

Watch here:

8:19 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Egyptian president offers assistance for Syria earthquake relief in call with Assad

From CNN's Hira Humayun

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spoke via phone with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and offered relief assistance to Syria in the wake of the deadly earthquake, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency spokesman on Tuesday.

“During the phone call, the President expressed his sincere condolences to the victims of the devastating earthquake that occurred yesterday, February 6, and wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded and injured,” the statement read, “The President also reaffirmed Egypt's solidarity with Syria and its sister people in this painful injury, referring to His Majesty's guidance to provide all possible assistance and relief assistance in this regard to Syria.”

On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a call with his Turkish and Syrian counterparts that Egypt is sending urgent relief aid to both countries, according to tweets from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

8:15 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Hundreds of families still trapped under rubble in Syrian opposition-held territory, White Helmets say

From CNN's Celine Alkhaldi

Civilians and members of the "White Helmets" work to save people trapped beneath a destroyed building in Harem, Syria, on Tuesday, February 7.
Civilians and members of the "White Helmets" work to save people trapped beneath a destroyed building in Harem, Syria, on Tuesday, February 7. (Anas Alkharboutli/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images)

The "White Helmets" group, which is officially known as the Syria Civil Defense and operates in rebel-held territories in Syria, said hundreds of families are still trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake in the northwest of the country.

The group said in a tweet said the death and injury tolls "are expected to rise significantly because hundreds of families are still under the rubble.”

More than 210 buildings have totally collapsed in northwest Syria, the White Helmets added.

Members of the international community have stepped up to coordinate relief efforts to Turkey and Syria after the powerful quake.

However, Dr. Bachir Tajaldin, Turkey country director at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), told CNN earlier that sending aid to Syria will be difficult because there "is no central government to take care of the multi-sectorial response."

8:05 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Thousands of homes destroyed in quake, UNICEF says

From CNN’s Celine Alkhaldi and Jomana Karadsheh

A man makes his way through the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Tuesday, February 7.
A man makes his way through the rubble of a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Tuesday, February 7. Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Thousands of homes have been destroyed in areas affected by an earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at a press briefing in Geneva Tuesday.

“Thousands of homes have been destroyed, displacing families and exposing them to the elements at a time of year when temperatures regularly drop below freezing and snow and freezing rain are common,” Elder said. “Scores of schools, hospitals and other medical and educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes.”

“This is the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in almost 100 years and came at the worst possible time for vulnerable children and families in the affected areas,” he added.

Elder also pointed that the most vulnerable are Syrian refugee families living in informal settlements and displaced families in northwest Syria who are also grappling with an ongoing cholera outbreak and heavy rain and snow.

“In this context, and one of more than a decade of conflict, this earthquake is utterly unbearable,” Elder said.
8:06 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Heart-breaking photos show a father holding the hand of his teenage daughter killed in the quake

From CNN's Sarah Tilotta and Christian Edwards

Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who was killed in the earthquake.
Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who was killed in the earthquake. (Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images)

Images of a father holding the hand of his dead daughter, crushed under layers of rubble, have emerged from the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras.

AFP photographer Adem Altan captured a series of pictures on Tuesday that show Mesut Hancer sitting amid a destroyed building as he clutches the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who was killed in the quake.

A closer view shows Hancer holding his daughter Irmak's hand amid the rubble.
A closer view shows Hancer holding his daughter Irmak's hand amid the rubble. Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Rescuers continue to search for survivors in the ruins of flattened buildings – amid severe weather conditions that are expected to worsen in the coming days.

7:57 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

UN aid to Syria temporarily halted due to earthquake aftermath

From CNN's Chris Liakos

The UN’s cross-border aid into Syria has been temporarily disrupted following the damage caused by Monday’s powerful earthquake, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) told CNN Tuesday.

The UN’s aid assistance has been “temporarily disrupted due to road challenges – particularly the road from Gaziantep to our Transshipment Hub in Hatay," said Madevi Sun-Suon, OCHA spokesperson.

“We are exploring all avenues to reach people in need and conducting assessments on feasibility. We do have aid but this road issue is a big challenge as of now,” the spokesperson added. 

Around 4.1 million people rely on humanitarian assistance in the region of northwest Syria rocked by the quake, the majority of whom are women and children, according to an OCHA statement on Monday.

CNN's Hira Humayun contributed reporting.

7:48 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Erdogan declares state of emergency for three months in 10 provinces

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to press on February 7, in Ankara, Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to press on February 7, in Ankara, Turkey. Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces for three months, as the country reels from a powerful earthquake Monday that killed over 5,000 people across Turkey and Syria.

"We are declaring our 10 provinces where the earthquake occurred as disaster areas. We have decided to declare a state of emergency based on the authority given to us by the 119th article of the constitution in order to ensure that the search and rescue activities and subsequent studies can be carried out quickly," Erdogan said during a televised speech Tuesday.

"With this decision, we will quickly complete the presidential and parliamentary processes."

7:01 a.m. ET, February 7, 2023

Having already survived a brutal civil war, this earthquake is "a crisis in a crisis" for Syrians

From CNN's Dalya Al Masri and Celine Alkhaldi

For many of the Syrian victims of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, this is just the latest in a decade-long series of tragedies.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck in the early hours, killing more than 5,000 people in the two countries and leaving thousands more injured. It was the strongest earthquake recorded in Turkey in 84 years.

In Syria, most of the casualties were in the northwest of the country, predominantly in the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, according to the state news agency, SANA.

This region was already struggling to rebuild vital infrastructure heavily damaged by continual aerial bombardment during the country’s civil war, which the United Nations estimates to have claimed 300,000 lives since 2011.

It’s a “crisis in the crisis,” El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Syria, told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane on Monday.

The infrastructure has been crippled by the situation, the war and so on,” he said.

Those cities are ghost cities… Many people are very scared. They don’t want to go back to their houses. If we can call them houses in these cases. They are ruins sometimes.”

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