Death toll from earthquakes in Türkiye passes 45,000: Agency

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye has risen to 45,089, the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said early Wednesday.

On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

More than 13 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes as well as many in northwestern Syria.

On Tuesday, Türkiye’s president pledged to reconstruct the country's southern region in the wake of the powerful earthquakes.

"With the completion of debris removal activities, we are starting the reconstruction and revival of our region," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press briefing in Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province, where the quakes had their epicenter.

"In a few months, we are starting the construction of 309,000 houses, including village houses, throughout the earthquake zone," he added.