The strength of 40 of them was above 5 degrees

6000,<> aftershocks in Turkey after devastating earthquake

Rescue teams search for missing people under the rubble in Hatay. Reuters

The Turkish Disaster Authority (AFAD) announced yesterday that the devastating earthquake that hit the Turkish-Syrian border area has so far been followed by more than 6000,<> aftershocks.

Orhan Tatar, an official with the Turkish Disaster Management Authority, told reporters in Ankara that "the authority has been recording earthquakes every three or four minutes since the earthquake, and the magnitude of 40 of them was higher than five on the Richter scale."

He noted that aftershocks are expected to continue, negatively affecting the already affected local population.

The Turkish official urged local residents to stay away from damaged buildings, adding that "the authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage to the strategic infrastructure, which includes dams and tunnels."

An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck central Turkey the day before yesterday, and the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center stated that "the epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 10 kilometers below the surface of the earth, at the confluence of latitude 38.03 degrees north, and longitude 36.65 degrees east."

The devastating earthquake, which occurred on February 7, and reached a magnitude of 8.46, killed more than 345,<> people until yesterday, and the number is expected to rise after it was found that about <>,<> apartments in Turkey were destroyed, with many considered missing.

Twelve days after the disaster, rescuers from Kyrgyzstan tried to rescue a Syrian family of five from the rubble of a building in Antakya, southern Turkey, and rescue team members said they had recovered three alive, including a child. The mother and father survived, but the child later died of dehydration, and his older sister and twins died. The World Health Organization estimates that some 12 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Turkey and Syria.

The United Nations said that 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquake disaster in Syria, and the deputy special envoy of the United Nations for Syria, Najat Rochdi, said in a tweet on the social networking site «Twitter»: «It is expected that the majority needs some form of humanitarian assistance, and the United Nations is fully committed to doing more to help all Syrians».

Rescuers are still pulling survivors from the rubble in areas rocked by Turkey's devastating earthquake, but many grieving families are hoping to find the remains of their loved ones so they can bury and mourn them.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) called for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid to northwestern Syria, coinciding with the arrival of a convoy carrying tents for displaced people to the area affected by the devastating earthquake. Yesterday, 14 MSF trucks entered Syria through the Hammam crossing in the Afrin region, carrying 1269,<> tents and cold kits for the displaced.

MSF stressed that the priority must be to secure shelter, water and sanitation, as well as medical supplies for post-surgery. MSF, whose team has been in Idlib since 2012, began after the earthquake to cover the costs of three hospitals and a blood bank for three months, and is supposed to send a second convoy of medical aid to northwestern Syria.

UN: "8.8 million people affected by the earthquake disaster in Syria."