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

Latest headlines:

Here's how the new is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 09, 2023, 3:55 PM EST

USAID announces $85 million for earthquake relief

The United States Agency for International Development is providing $85 million in “urgent humanitarian assistance" that will go toward shelter, "food, medicine and other desperately needed aid to those in need” in Turkey and Syria, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced Thursday on Twitter.

A boy and her mother are rescued by German and British rescue teams after an 8 hour operation in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Feb. 9, 2023.
Arnaud Andrieu/SIPA/Shutterstock

People sit around a fire near the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Suhaib Salem/Reuters

This comes as American responders are “leading the search for survivors” in Adiyaman, Turkey, said USAID spokesperson Jessica Jennings.

“Using sensitive cameras, listening devices, and search-and-rescue dogs, the team is able to target their search for survivors more accurately,” she said.

In Syria, Jennings said access to some of the hardest-hit areas remains “extremely challenging” due to damage to infrastructure, the security situation and weather concerns. However, she said that as of Thursday, one USAID partner was able to move six truckloads of supplies into the country.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Feb 09, 2023, 1:46 PM EST

Syria in need of more help: 'It’s like a drop in the ocean'

Members of the International Medical Corps dispatched to impacted areas of Syria have “started crying on the phone when I asked them what it was like,” Wafaa Sadek, country director for International Medical Corps in Syria, told ABC News.

“People everywhere on the streets. The weather is absolutely freezing. They don’t have anywhere to go. The children are screaming. Adults screaming,” Sadek said. “The situation is very, very bad.”

A member of the White Helmets civil defense rescue team stands in front of the rubble of a building during the search for survivors in the rebel-held Syrian town of Jindaris, Syria on Feb. 8, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images

Sadek said her team told her of a little girl in Aleppo who was shouting, “Please, somebody get me out! I will serve you for the rest of my life, just get me out of here, please.”

Sadek said she wants to see more international help for Syria. She’s calling for sanctions to be lifted so more aid can get through.

“This is a humanitarian crisis,” Sadek said. “We should put our differences aside.”

Sadek stressed, “Syria is very much in need. The help which has come from all the over the world is much appreciated, but we really need a lot more. It’s like a drop in the ocean.”

-ABC News’ Zoe Magee

Feb 09, 2023, 5:50 AM EST

Death toll exceeds 17,000 in Turkey, Syria

Monday’s massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks have killed at least 14,014 people and injured more than 63,000 others in southeastern Turkey, according to the latest figures announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

People work at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2023.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Meanwhile, at least 3,162 people were killed and over 5,600 others were 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’ Joe Simonetti

Feb 08, 2023, 10:32 PM EST

CAIR-NY says former board member and his family were killed in earthquake

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' New York chapter tweeted Wednesday that a former board member, Burak Firik, along with his wife and two children were killed in Turkey during the earthquake.

A CAIR-NY representative told ABC News that the family, from Queens, was in Turkey to take care of Firik's father, who was having health issues.

-ABC News' Darren Reynolds