Death toll climbs to 109 from devastating İzmir quake

The death toll from last week's earthquake in Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir has climbed to 109, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said. The agency said 138 victims are still under treatment, while 898 more have been discharged from hospitals.

Tuesday November 03 2020 11:04 am

Duvar English

The death toll from last week’s powerful earthquake in Turkey’s Aegean region has climbed to 109, authorities said on Nov. 3.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), 138 victims are still under treatment, while 898 more have been discharged from hospitals.

A total of 1,562 aftershocks – 44 of them with a magnitude higher than 4.0 – have been recorded since last Friday’s 6.6-magnitude quake rattled İzmir, Turkey’s third-largest city that is home to more than 4.3 million, the agency said.

More than 3,500 tents and 13,000 beds are being used for temporary shelters in Turkey, where relief efforts have drawn in nearly 8,000 personnel and 25 rescue dogs, AFAD said.

Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. More than 500 people were killed in a 2011 quake in the eastern city of Van, while another in January this year killed 41 people in the eastern province of Elazığ.

In 1999, two powerful quakes killed 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey.