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 14, 2023, 1:16 PM EST

Death toll reaches 41,000

The total number of deaths in Turkey and Syria rose to at least 41,219 on Tuesday.

There were 35,418 people killed in Turkey, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Syria, the death toll currently stands at 5,801 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.

The death toll in Turkey is now more than the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, the previous record for most deaths due to an earthquake in modern Turkish history.

Feb 13, 2023, 6:28 PM EST

UNICEF warns of dire situation for children in Turkey, Syria

One week after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, millions of children remain in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, according to a report from UNICEF.

Roughly 4.6 million children are living in quake affected areas in Turkey and another 2.5 million children are living in the affected areas of Syria, the agency said.

UNICEF officials said the number of children killed and injured during the quakes hasn't been confirmed but is "likely to be in the many thousands."

A child looks out of a tent, at a shelter in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria Feb. 10, 2023.
Firas Makdesi/Reuters

The agency said there hundreds of thousands of families who lost their homes, and many are left in the cold with little infrastructure support.

"We must do everything in our power to ensure that everyone who survived this catastrophe receives life-saving support, including safe water, sanitation, critical nutrition and health supplies, and support for children's mental health. Not only now, but over the long term," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.

-ABC News' William Gretsky

Feb 13, 2023, 4:13 PM EST

Syria opens 2 more border crossings

Syria has opened two more border crossings from Turkey for the next three months to help with the influx of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

"Delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. "Opening these crossing points -- along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals and easing travel between hubs -- will allow more aid to go in, faster."

Rescuers evacuate a 12-year-old Syrian girl from the rubble of a destroyed building in Hatay, Feb. 12, 2023, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east.
Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images

Feb 13, 2023, 12:59 PM EST

Death toll climbs to over 37,000 in Turkey, Syria

Last week's massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks have killed at least 31,643 people in southeastern Turkey, according to the latest figures from the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

Workers stand on top of a collapsed building as a digger works its way through the debris, Feb. 13, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey.
Burak Kara/Getty Images

Relatives react after identifying a body as a family member in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Feb. 13, 2023, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the border region of Turkey and Syria.
Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, at least 5,714 people were killed 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.

PHOTO: An infant rescued from the wreckage of the earthquake receives medical treatment while being transported to a hospital in Bab al-Hawa in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on Feb. 12, 2023.
An infant rescued from the wreckage of the earthquake receives medical treatment while being transported to a hospital run by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), near the border with Turkey in Bab al-Hawa in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on Feb. 12, 2023.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images

School books and certificates found by White Helmets member lay on the rubble, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria, Feb. 10, 2023.
White Helmets/via Reuters

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Joe Simonetti