Turkey eyes post-quake reconstruction, while Syrian people seek more aid

Seher, a 15 year-old Syrian woman saved by rescue workers from under the rubble after 210 hours, is carried to an ambulance in Hatay, Turkey Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Turkey turned its focus to reconstruction on Wednesday, encouraging those in quake-hit areas whose buildings have been deemed safe to return home. In neighbouring Syria's opposition-held northwest, which was already suffering from more than a decade of bombardment, the earthquake left many war-weary families fending for themselves amid the rubble, with international aid arriving slowly. The combined death toll in the two countries has climbed over 41,000, and millions are in need over humanitarian aid, with many survivors left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures, and rescues now few and far between.

Late on Tuesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed to press on with rescue and recovery efforts, after nine were pulled from the rubble that day. A 42-year-old woman was rescued from a building in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras on Wednesday, almost 222 hours after a devastating earthquake struck the region, Turkish media reported. But U.N. authorities have said the rescue phase is coming to a close, with the focus turning to shelter, food and schooling. The Turkish president, who has referred to the quake as "the disaster of the century," said more than 13,000 people were being treated in hospital.

Also Read: Turkey earthquake: After Nurdagi, NDRF teams reach Hatay for rescue operations

The Turkish toll was 35,418, Erdogan said. More than 5,814 have died in Syria, according to Reuters tally from Syrian state media and a U.N. agency. In Syria, relief efforts have been hampered by civil war. The single border crossing from Turkey to Syria was closed for days before U.N. trucks were allowed in.

35,418
No. of people killed in Turkey

5,814
No. of approximate people killed in Syria

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