Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that more than 35,000 people have died in Turkey as a result of last week’s earthquakes, making it the deadliest such disaster since the country’s founding 100 years ago. Confirmed deaths passed the 33,000 recorded from the massive Erzincan earthquake in 1939. Erdogan said 105,505 people were injured as a result of the Feb. 6 quake centered around Kahramanmaras and its aftershocks. Almost 3,700 deaths have been confirmed in neighboring Syria, taking the combined toll in both countries to over 39,000. While the death toll is almost certain to rise further, many of the tens of thousands of survivors left homeless were still struggling to find shelter from the bitter cold.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that 35.418 people have died as a result of last week’s quakes, making the disaster the deadliest since the country’s founding 100 years ago