Turkish presidential Cabinet to convene Tuesday with focus on earthquakes

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Turkish presidential Cabinet will convene Tuesday with a focus on the recent deadly earthquakes, Vice President Fuat Oktay said Monday.

The Cabinet meeting will take place at the headquarters of the Turkish disaster management agency AFAD in Ankara at 3 p.m. local time (1200GMT).

"We will be convening the Cabinet under the presidency of our President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) and our agenda is fully on the current disasters, the latest situation and the measures taken and to be taken," Oktay told reporters.

At least 31,643 people were killed and over 80,000 others injured after the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern Türkiye within the space of less than 10 hours on Feb. 6, affecting around 13 million people, according to the latest official figures.

The earthquakes, centered in Kahramanmaras, also hit nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors.

In neighboring Syria, the death toll has climbed above 3,500, with more than 5,200 people injured.