Turkey-Syria earthquake updates: Death toll climbs to over 41,000

The Feb. 6 quake was centered in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaras province.

ByMelissa Gaffney, Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, and Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: February 15, 2023, 8:35 AM EST

More than 41,000 people are dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria on Feb. 6, according to Turkish and Syrian officials.

The pre-dawn quake was centered in the town of Pazarcik in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaras province and was followed by several powerful aftershocks. Thousands of buildings were toppled on both sides of the border, and the death toll continued to rise as rescue workers searched for survivors in the massive piles of rubble.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook central Turkey early Monday and was followed by a strong aftershock.
Associated Press Staff/AP

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Here's how the new is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 07, 2023, 9:13 AM EST

23 million people affected in Turkey, Syria

Some 23 million people in Turkey and Syria have been affected by Monday’s massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks, according to Turkish and Syrian authorities.

A woman is rescued after surviving the earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, the day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's southeast on Feb. 7, 2023.
Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

About 13.5 million of them are in Turkey, according to Turkish Minister of of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by snow and freezing temperatures in the 10 affected Turkish provinces, Kurum said during a press conference Tuesday in the city of Gaziantep, near the quake’s epicenter.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Engin Bas and Joe Simonetti

Feb 07, 2023, 9:00 AM EST

Turkey declares 3-month state of emergency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a disaster zone in the 10 southeastern provinces affected by the devastating earthquakes, imposing a state of emergency in the region for at least three months.

Smoke billows from the Iskenderun Port as rescue workers work at the scene of a collapsed building following an earthquake on Feb. 07, 2023, in Iskenderun, Turkey.
Burak Kara/Getty Images

Erdogan said 70 countries have offered to help with the search and rescue operations in Turkey and that his government plans to open up hotels in the southwestern resort city of Antalya to temporarily house people impacted by the disaster.

-ABC News’ Angus Hines

Feb 07, 2023, 7:32 AM EST

Over 8,000 people rescued in Turkey

More than 8,000 people have been rescued in southeastern Turkey since a powerful earthquake and aftershocks struck the region, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Muhammet Ruzgar, 5, is carried out by a rescuer from the site of a damaged building, following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 7, 2023.
Umit Bektas/Reuters

Some 24,000 first responders are on the ground, including more than 3,200 first responders from 14 other countries who traveled to Turkey to assist with the massive search and rescue effort following Monday’s quake. They are carefully combing through the wreckage and looking for survivors amid the 6,000 buildings that have been either damaged or destroyed, according to Oktay.

-ABC News’ Engin Bas and Joe Simonetti

Feb 07, 2023, 7:04 AM EST

Death toll tops 5,000 in Turkey, Syria

Monday’s massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks have killed at least 3,419 people and injured another 20,534 in southeastern Turkey, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced during a press conference on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at least 1,603 were killed and 3,649 injured in both government- and rebel-controlled areas of northwestern Syria, according to combined figures from the Syrian Ministry of Health and the Syrian civil defense and medical group that operates in opposition-held areas, known as the White Helmets.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Engin Bas and Joe Simonetti