The UN humanitarian chief warned Sky News that the death toll from the earthquake on Monday in Syria and Turkey could “double or more” from the more than 28,000 deaths recorded so far.
“It’s really hard to estimate very accurately, because you have to get under the rubble, but I’m sure it’s going to double or more,” Martin Griffiths said Saturday in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, near the epicenter of the quake.
“We have dealt with many conflicts around the world (…) But losing 20, 30 or 40 thousand people in one night, we don’t see this even in these conflicts,” Griffiths continued. “It’s terrifying,” she added.
Six days after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred early Monday morning, the provisional count between the two countries stands at 28,191 people: 24,617 in Turkey and 3,574 in Syria.
In addition to the deceased, the United Nations warned that up to 5.3 million people they ran out of home only in Syria and that at least 870,000 urgently need food in both countries.
The World Health Organization estimated that 26 million people were affected by the earthquake and launched an urgent appeal for raise 42.8 million dollars to finance immediate health needs.
