Deaths in Turkey, Syria may rise eight folds after quake – WHO
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Toll of people killed and those who were injured in the strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday will rise in the week to follow, World Health Organization (WHO) predicted.
At 4:17 am, Syria witnessed an earthquake which had its epicenter near the Turkish city of Gaziantep.
The devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have left more than 2,600 dead and thousands more injured.
Hundreds are believed to still be trapped under the rubble of thousands of the collapsed buildings in both countries.
“The initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows,” the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, said.
Smallwood indicated that more collapses are expected “so we do often see in the order of eight fold increases on the initial numbers.”
She stressed that people who cannot return to their homes are gathering in collective environments thus the overcrowding will put people at risk of contracting respiratory viruses.
The death toll in Syria has reached 1.805 and 3.955 were injured, according to North Press’ Monitoring and Documentation Department.