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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in ten southeastern provinces devastated by the earthquake on Tuesday, the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“We have decided to declare a state of emergency in order to expedite our (rescue and recovery) work,” Erdogan said in televised remarks.
Turkey and neighboring Syria are reeling from two successive earthquakes — the region’s largest in nearly a century — that have wrecked vast swaths of the area, killing people and destroying buildings.
At the time of writing, the death toll from the earthquakes had surpassed 5,000, with many people still missing or seriously injured. And, not long after the earthquake left tens of thousands of people homeless, a terrible winter storm descended, endangering even more lives.
The earthquakes, which occurred nine hours apart and measured 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, respectively, damaged at least 6,000 buildings, many of which were occupied by people. Rescue attempts are still underway — Turkey’s government has mobilized about 15,000 search and rescue troops — and countries from all over the world have given assistance, but emergency workers in both countries say they are absolutely overwhelmed.
Syria is the least equipped for such a disaster, having already been ravaged by years of conflict and terrorism. Thousands of internally displaced persons are already living in deplorable conditions, such as tents and improvised shacks, with minimal access to health and emergency services.
With the dust from the disaster still settling, regional analysts are focusing on the long-term consequences for Turkey, a country whose 85 million-strong population was already mired in economic problems — and whose military, economy and president have far-reaching consequences beyond its borders.
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(With Inputs From Agencies)
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