by Don Mooney
Memphis, TENN— More than 21,000 are feared dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria early Monday, according to officials. The quake 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 was expected to rise as rescue workers searched for survivors in the massive piles of rubble.
The Associated Press reports the rising death toll is now higher than the number of people who died as a result of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region, which caused the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said harsh winter conditions made the situation on the ground “very difficult”.
“Everywhere there is snow or rain, and it’s very cold … the weather conditions and the climate is making it very difficult for the rescue workers and civilians,” she said. “It seems to be the biggest challenge for everyone.”
TV images of rescue operations in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir showed dozens of rescuers and volunteers searching through rubble in their winter jackets and face scarves with snow on the ground as they desperately searched for survivors.