The death toll in Turkey and Syria from earthquakes has risen to more than 11,200.

The death toll from powerful earthquakes on Monday exceeded 11,200 on Wednesday, of which 8,574 occurred in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria.

The two countries hit by the disaster also have nearly 55,000 injured, many with broken bones and severe cuts.

“Here in Kahramanmaras, at the epicenter of an earthquake that has swept ten provinces, I can say that so far 8,574 dead and 49,133 injured,” the President said. TurkeyRecep Tayyip Erdogan, to journalists during a visit to this city.

Amid growing criticism from the government over the lack of assistance in some disaster-hit areas, Erdogan traveled to Kahramanmaras and will also visit Hatay province, one of the hardest hit.

“I believe that my citizens, who have always been patient, will remain so, with the coordination of the AFAD (Turkish emergency agency) the state is here,” said Erdogan, who faces a decisive election in May that will mark him for 20 years. years in power.

“On the first day there were some problems, but on the second and today everything is under control. We will start removing the rubble and our goal is to rebuild houses in Kahramanmaras and other affected cities within a year,” promised the president, who also announced financial assistance to the victims.

Despite the fact that around 60,000 members of the rescue teams are deployed in Turkey in the most affected area, the destruction is so great and the area is so wide that there are still places where help has not reached.

“We didn’t get anything”

Many citizens describe the dramatic situation in the middle of winter due to the lack of basic services and goods, with interruptions in water, electricity and heating, fuel shortages and difficulties in obtaining medicines.

“What happened to the taxes we pay? Where is the Red Crescent? We didn’t get anything. We cope among swollen bodies. They gave us a tent in which three families live, but we are afraid that the children will freeze to death,” a survivor told Halk TV from Kahramanmaras.

Yılmaz Kurt, an emergency doctor who came to Maras in his car loaded with first aid supplies, told EFE over the phone that “gasoline and diesel fuel for cars and vehicles are at the top of the list of needs.”

“There is no fuel at any gas station in the region. Many cars stop on the highway when their tanks run out of gas. Work machines also cannot work when they run out of gas,” he said.

Rescuers continue to free people alive after spending more than 50 hours under the rubble, but the tasks are becoming more desperate with freezing temperatures and tremors making the job difficult.

In Syria, the earthquake death toll so far stands at 2,662 and 4,985 injured, while hundreds of people remain under the rubble more than 50 hours after the first quake.

The opposition-held areas of the northwestern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, bordering Turkey, are the largest concentration of casualties in a country already punished by twelve years of conflict. (EFE)