Already displaced by war, Syrians search earthquake rubble for loved ones
Residents of northwest Syria, most of whom found refuge in the area after fleeing the bombing in their hometowns during the war, found themselves facing a new catastrophe following Monday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
IDLIB — Northwestern Syria is a disaster area after being struck at dawn on Monday by one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in decades, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake was concentrated in the areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria, causing a humanitarian catastrophe that left thousands of dead and wounded.
Thousands of homes were destroyed and many residents were displaced.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a group of Syrian rescue workers that operate in rebel-held territories, announced in a statement a state of emergency in northwest Syria and called on international organizations to intervene quickly to provide relief to the afflicted and meet their needs.
According to statistics by the Syrian Civil Defense and local medical centers late on Monday, at least 700 people died as a result of the earthquake and more than 2,000 were injured in Syria. The toll is expected to rise as rescue teams continue searching for those trapped under the rubble.
