Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Death toll surpasses 24,000 amid rescue operations

Even as rescue efforts continue in earthquake-ravaged Turkey and Syria, the death toll has surpassed 24,000. Furthermore, the winter cold has exacerbated the misery of nearly a million people, many of whom are said to be in urgent need of food.

The epicentre of the earthquake, Kahramanmaras in eastern Turkey, had the highest number of casualties. According to one source, the city was filled with people already displaced by the war.

According to the United Nations, at least 8,70,000 people in both nations are currently in urgent need of hot meals. The UN said that up to 5.3 million people in Syria may have been made homeless.

Xinhua news agency reported that a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Turkey's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4:17 a.m. local time, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the country's southern province of Gaziantep a short time later, and a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Kahramanmaras at 1:24 p.m. local time.