'We Will Get Through This Disaster Together,' Says Erdogan As Earthquake Toll Soars To 76

As the Turkey earthquake has wreaked havoc in the country with the killing of at least 76 people, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğa has expressed his concerns for the citizens affected by the quake. He said that search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the areas affected.

Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD informed that 76 people had been killed and 440 sustained injuries in the massive earthquake that reverberated through several provinces in the south of the country. “76 of our citizens lost their lives in Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, and 440 citizens were injured in Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis,” AFAD said.

Search and rescue operations underway in Turkey

Taking to Twitter, Erdogan wrote, " I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and was felt in many parts of our country. All our relevant units are on alert under the coordination of AFAD."  He also informed that the Ministry of Interior and Health, AFAD, Governorships, and all other institutions are coordinating the operations. "We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage, and we continue our work", said Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey. 

Kahramanmaraş’ta meydana gelen ve ülkemizin pek çok yerinde hissedilen depremden etkilenen tüm vatandaşlarımıza geçmiş olsun dileklerimi iletiyorum. İlgili tüm birimlerimiz AFAD koordinasyonunda teyakkuz halindedir.

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023

Depremden etkilenen bölgelere arama kurtarma ekiplerimiz ivedilikle sevk edilmiştir. İçişleri ve Sağlık Bakanlığımız, AFAD, Valiliklerimiz ve diğer tüm kurumlarımız çalışmalarına hızla başlamıştır.

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023

Biz de yaşanan deprem sonrası başlatılan çalışmaları koordine ediyoruz. Yaşadığımız bu felaketi inşallah hep birlikte en kısa sürede ve en az hasarla atlatmayı temenni ediyor, çalışmalarımızı sürdürüyoruz.

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023

Meanwhile,  Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency, AFAD has dispatched its search and rescue team to the regions. "All provincial AFAD Directorates have been put on alert; All our teams, especially search, and rescue, are dispatched to the region," it informed on Twitter.

Tüm il AFAD Müdürlükleri teyakkuza geçirilmiş olup; arama kurtarma başta olmak üzere tüm ekiplerimiz bölgeye sevk edilmektedir.

Tüm Milletimize geçmiş olsun dileklerimizi sunuyoruz.

— AFAD (@AFADBaskanlik) February 6, 2023

Further, they have instructed to keep the roads clear for swift search and rescue operations and avoid making phone calls and instead communicate via short message service (SMS). Taking to Twitter, AFAD said, "IMPORTANT! Leave the roads clear for search and rescue teams and emergency vehicles dispatched to the area. Make your communications via short message service (SMS) and internet-based messaging software. Avoid making phone calls except in vital situations." 

ÖNEMLİ!

Yolları, bölgeye sevk edilen arama kurtarma ekipleri ve acil yardım araçları için boş bırakın.

-Haberleşmelerinizi kısa mesaj servisi (SMS) ve internet tabanlı mesajlaşma yazılımları üzerinden yapınız.

Hayati durumlar haricinde telefon görüşmesi yapmaktan kaçının.

— AFAD (@AFADBaskanlik) February 6, 2023