Turkey has stepped up relief efforts to quake-hit provinces as the death toll climbed to 44,218, while Syria’s death toll is more than 5,800 people.
Turkish authorities have said preliminary work has started to build housing for people left homeless by the massive earthquakes that hit parts of the country and neighboring Syria on February 6, killing tens of thousands.
Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD confirmed Friday that the country’s death toll reached 44,218, adding that the quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were followed by 9,136 aftershocks.
In total, the fatalities from both countries have surpassed 50,000.
