Earthquake death toll in Turkey, Syria passes 25,000

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey – Even after the wounded are treated and the trapped are freed from the rubble, the disaster of the earthquakes in Turkey may continue due to less immediate dangers.

The aftershocks of the earthquake could also manifest in a lack of water and sanitation, as well as frigid temperatures.

IsraAID’s initial exploratory team assessed that clean water would be one of the major problems for area residents following the tremors. “There will be a massive need for clean water,” said IsraAID press officer Shachar May.

US President Joe Biden on Monday said his administration has been working closely with Turkey, authorizing an immediate Washington response to the devastating earthquake there.

The earthquake killed more than 2,200 people and injured thousands more in Turkey and northwest Syria, flattening apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war.

"Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog spoke with Turkish President Erdogan on Monday, following the devastating earthquake that shook the region that morning and the previous evening, according to a statement from Herzog's office. 

Herzog expressed his condolences on behalf of the people of Israel, and Erdogan likewise expressed condolences for the victims of last week's attack at the Neveh Ya'acov neighborhood in Jerusalem. 

In the coming hours, 150 IDF rescue personnel will take off to Turkey to assist with the earthquake disaster response as part of Operation Olive Branch.

IDF Home Front Command foreign rescue chief Col. Golan Voch told a briefing of military reporters on Monday night, “We are ready to leave in the coming hours. We are a special small rescue staff of 150 specialists.”

“We have the great opportunity to help our neighbors after hundreds of them were killed and thousands have been injured. This is a great disaster. We also have not experienced anything like this [recently] - the last big earthquake was 13 years ago. We will do everything we can to save Turkish citizens,” said Voch.

A large fire burned and a plume of black smoke drifted high into the air on Monday above Turkey's southern Iskenderun port, in the Mediterranean Sea-side province of Hatay, according to Reuters witnesses and footage.

The region was hit by two major earthquakes earlier in the day, leaving widespread damage and loss of life. It was not immediately clear what was burning.

Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey early on Monday morning, a SmartAID-Magen Search & Rescue team will be leaving for Gaziantep with the goal of finding and rescuing people who are trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings, according to a statement from SmartAID. 

SmartAID is, according to its public materials, a non-religious, non-political, non-governmental international humanitarian aid organization fighting global poverty and economic inequality.

Once they have completed their search and rescue mission, the organization is looking to provide clean water, connectivity, warm thermal units  and shelter to earthquake-affected areas in Turkey.

Russian rescue workers will fly to Syria and Turkey after a huge earthquake killed about 1,700 people and injured thousands more, the Kremlin said on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Syrian leader Bashar Assad and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan to express his condolences over the death and destruction wrought by the magnitude 7.8 quake, the worst to strike Turkey this century.

Putin offered to send Russian rescue teams to both Turkey and Syria.

"Bashar Assad gratefully accepted this offer, and in the coming hours rescuers of the Russian emergencies ministry will fly to Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement.

United Nations staff is on the ground in Turkey and Syria to assess the need and provide assistance following a huge earthquake on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Monday.

"We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge," Guterres added.

The United States is already responding after a huge earthquake hit central Turkey and northwest Syria, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

"Our initial assistance response to Türkiye is already underway, and US-supported humanitarian organizations in Syria are responding to the earthquakes’ effects across the country. We are determined to do all that we can to help those affected by these earthquakes in the days, weeks, and months ahead," Blinken said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call with Syrian President Bashar Assad offered condolences for the victims of a strong earthquake that struck the country Monday and pledged to send rescue teams and assistance, Syria's presidency said.