Heavy rain hinders rescue attempts after the Turkey earthquake.
In a race against time to locate survivors of a deadly earthquake in southeast Turkey, rescuers are facing snowfall and torrential rain.
The early-morning of Monday earthquake caused more than 4,300 fatalities and 15,000 injuries in Turkey and across the border in Syria.
The World Health Organization has cautioned that as rescuers locate additional casualties, the death toll might increase significantly.
The search for survivors is intensifying as daybreak approaches. In the catastrophe area, many residents have been too terrified to enter buildings again.
The 7.8 magnitude tremor occurred on Monday at 04:17 (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) close to the city of Gaziantep.
In Turkey, where at least 2,921 people are now confirmed to have killed, seismologists claim it was one of the biggest ever recorded. The survivors claim that the shaking didn’t stop for two minutes.
A subsequent tremor, with a magnitude of 7.5, had its centre in the Kahramanmaras province’s Elbistan region.
The Turkish city of Maras, which is close to the earthquake’s centre and is thought to be one of the worst-affected locations, was experiencing a standstill in traffic as daylight broke on Tuesday.
Cars periodically plodded forward, their red brake lights illuminating the damp road.
Only a few rescuers have arrived in this region of southern Turkey, and everyone is racing to get there as soon as possible to assess the situation and provide urgent aid.
They were anxious to get there and start looking for survivors, but they had no clue how awful the devastation would be when they arrived, one search and rescue team on their way to the city told the BBC. Their van was laden with specialised supplies and equipment.
According to the most recent announcement from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), over 4,700 demolished structures have seen almost 8,000 individuals evacuated.
Rescuers in some regions have been searching through the debris with their own hands for survivors as the aftershocks continue. But the cold is making it difficult to conduct searches. A woman’s voice was heard pleading for assistance under a mound of debris in the southern province of Hatay, according to Reuters.
A local who identified himself as Deniz stated, “They’re making noises, but nobody is coming,” while sobbing. “We are absolutely sad. My God… They are shouting. Despite their pleas for help, we are unable to intervene. How will we be able to rescue them? Since the morning, nobody has been present.” Rescuers in the Turkish city of Osmaniye, which is close to the epicentre, were impeded as they combed through the debris in search of survivors by the torrential rain.
The cold and rain hit as the city had no power. Despite the frigid weather, one family slept out on the street out of fear that the aftershocks would cause another building to fall.
The family moved towards the middle of the street a little bit closer after each aftershock. Only seven of the 14 guests who were booked into the hotel that night, the city’s hotel owner told the BBC.
International nations are contributing to the rescue attempts by deploying equipment, sniffer dogs, and specialised personnel. Three airports in Turkey have suffered substantial damage as a result of the earthquake, which makes it harder to distribute supplies.
Millions of refugees are housed in camps along the Turkish border, and it is currently known that at least 1,400 people have died in Syria.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, reported that 45 nations have responded to a worldwide call for assistance.
As many of the families affected by the disaster were “already in grave need of humanitarian relief in locations where access is a difficulty,” UN Secretary General António Guterres urged for an international response.
While rescuers from the Netherlands and Romania have already left, the European Union is deploying teams of search and rescue personnel to Turkey. According to reports, the UK would deploy 76 experts, tools, and rescue canines.
Additionally pledging assistance are the US, Israel, France, Germany, and Germany. Iran, Turkey, and Syria have all received assistance offers from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
One of the seismically active regions of the world is where Turkey is located. Over 17,000 people were murdered in a quake in the north-west of the country in 1999, while 33,000 people died in the province of Erzincan in the east in 1939. Cyprus, Lebanon, and Israel could all feel the effects of this earthquake.