Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Tuesday a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces of Türkiye hit by massive earthquakes.
The decision is taken in order to ensure that search and rescue activities and subsequent studies can be carried out quickly, he said at a press conference.
Death tolls from Monday’s powerful earthquakes in southern Türkiye rose to 3,549, Erdogan added.
A total of 53,317 search and rescue staff and support personnel are currently working in earthquake zones, according to Erdogan.
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The casualties were in the provinces of southern Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya.
Others were southeastern Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir and Gaziantep, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Türkiye’s southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4.17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT) on Monday.
Another magnitude 6.4 quake followed a few minutes later in the country’s southern province of Gaziantep and yet another magnitude 7.6 earthquake at 1.24 p.m. local time in the Kahramanmaras Province.
Erdogan on Monday declared seven days of national mourning for the victims. (Xinhua)
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