The earthquake in Turkey and Syria has killed more than 9,400 people, making it the deadliest seismic event in more than a decade.
Turkish authorities updated the country’s death toll on Wednesday to 6,957. In Syria’s government-controlled area, the country’s officials reported 1,250 deaths. The White Helmets, volunteer first responders in a rebel-held enclave of Syria, have reported 1,280 deaths.
More than 30,000 people have been injured from the Monday morning 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and the death toll is expected to continue to rise as rescue workers search for survivors underneath the rubble.
The quake is the world’s deadliest seismic event since 2011, when a 9.0 magnitude quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people.
Turkey is home to millions of refugees from the war. The area in Syria impacted by the quake is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave.
According to Adelheid Marschang, a senior emergencies officer with the World Health Organization, as many as 23 million people could be affected in the region struck by the quake.
Many survivors in Turkey have had to sleep in cars, outside or in government shelters after the quake forced them out of their homes.
Erdogan said 13 million people were in Turkey were affected. He declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces.
More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkey, and roughly 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, according to authorities.
In Syria, aid efforts have been hindered by the war and the isolation of the rebel-held region along the border. The United Nations said it was “exploring all avenues” to deliver supplies to the rebel-held northwest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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