Newsman: The homeless problem more acute and the death toll rose sharply. Deaths in Turkey, Syria has earthquake surpass 11,000 according to the official. Rescuers labored to find signs of life amid the rubble Turkey’s disaster management agency said the country’s death toll passed 8,500. The Syrian Health Ministry placed the toll in government-held areas at more than 1,200, and at least 1,400 people have died in the rebel-held northwest, according to the White Helmets volunteer agency. More than 40,910 people had been injured in Turkey, according to the Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.
President Erdogan said 70 counties have offered their help. Search teams from two dozen have joined tens of thousands of local emergency personnel, and aid pledges have poured in from around the world. Searchers from France, Spain and Russia were among foreign teams on the ground.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday inspected relief efforts in Kahramanmaras province, where the two powerful quakes and aftershocks were centered. Damage was spread over at least nine other provinces, affecting more than 13 million of his nation’s 86 million people.
Erdogan pledged that no one would “be left in the streets.” He acknowledged the response had started slowly but dismissed criticism that the government needed to do more.
“We have mobilized all our resources,” Erdogan said. “The state is working with municipalities, especially (disaster agencies) with its entire means.”
Erdogan said the government would distribute $532 to affected families in Turkey.
Turkish Airlines said it evacuated 19,050 people from the region Tuesday and planned to evacuate 30,000 more Wednesday. Airline officials Yahya Ustun urged residents to “wait their turn … calmly.”
