Turkey-Syria earthquake: death toll passes 11,000 as time runs out for survivors

Today’s key updates:

Here is what you need to know as today’s rescue efforts face sub-zero temperatures and the death toll across Syria and Turkey continues to climb. 

• Snow and ice are expected throughout the week as hundreds of thousands face another night outside for fear of further tremors and weakened buildings. 
• Criticism is mounting in Turkey over reports of delays in emergency response and distribution of humanitarian aid, despite President Erdogan’s public appearances. 
• Aid deliveries at the Syrian border continue to face delays
• Twitter has been blocked on several internet providers while Erdogan visited badly-struck areas
• Survivors told the New Arab’s sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed that scenes of the earthquake were ‘like judgement day’. 
• Amid stories of devastation, rescue workers across Syria and Turkey have saved many families trapped for days inside collapsed buildings in bitter winter conditions. 
   

Aid - from whom, to whom - and how?

Here's a breakdown of the key supplies of aid to disaster-struck areas, and the challenges being faced along the way:

Gaza gives blood for injured in Syria and Turkey

Dealing with health and infrastructure crises of their own, Palestinian residents of the Gaza strip are donating blood to those in need after the earthquake, in a scheme launched by the Red Crescent.

Families cling to hope as search for survivors in Turkey underway

'Put politics aside', facilitate northwest Syria aid access: UN

A leading United Nations official on Wednesday called on quake-hit Syria's government to facilitate aid access to rebel-held areas in the northwest, warning that relief stocks will soon be depleted.

"Put politics aside and let us do our humanitarian work," the UN's resident Syria coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih said in an interview with AFP, warning: "We can't afford to wait and negotiate. By the time we negotiate, it's done, it's finished."

Twitter down in Turkey as quake response criticism mounts

The netblocks.org social media monitor said Twitter was being restricted "on multiple internet providers in Turkey".

⚠️ Confirmed: Real-time network data show Twitter has been restricted in #Turkey; the filtering is applied on major internet providers and comes as the public come to rely on the service in the aftermath of a series of deadly earthquakes

📰 Report: https://t.co/CEbfgeBpvz pic.twitter.com/3884wMpYD2

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 8, 2023

Turkish police have detained more than a dozen people since Monday's earthquake over social media posts that criticised how President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has been dealing with the disaster.

Turkish social media have been filled with posts by people complaining about a lack of search and rescue efforts in their provinces.

The Twitter outage came as Erdogan toured two of the hardest-hit Turkish provinces.

Turkish officials released no immediate statements about the service disruption.

But they had issued repeated warnings about spreading misinformation in advance of a crucial May 14 election in which Erdogan will try to extend his two-decade rule.

While rescue efforts continue - and aid starts to reach survivors in need - many are having to prepare hastily-dug graves for their loved ones in the freezing earth.

At 6 am the last person from my mother's brother's family was extracted, now we are preparing pits for burial.

My mother's brother and his family all died, except for his son, who is now in ICU, and my uncle's wife is still under the rubble. pic.twitter.com/Vum52fxE1w

— Fared Al Mahlool | فريد المحلول (@FARED_ALHOR) February 8, 2023

Photographs from Syria and Turkey lay bare the destruction

Countless images have been pouring in, trying to capture the extent of the damage caused. 

There have been some glimmers of hope as survivors are pulled out of the rubble, but it remains a time of overwhelming distress and mourning.

View The New Arab's photo gallery here: 

Sisi and Assad make first contact over earthquake relief

Despite being at odds with both Syria and Turkey for years, Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has spoken to Bashar al-Assad to discuss rescue efforts and extend condolences for the first time. 

More from The New Arab's Egypt correspondent here: 

"Still hundreds alive under the rubble of collapsed buildings"

The White Helmets told TV reporters recently that they know it is not too late for many of those who remain trapped. 

"There are still hundreds of families trapped in collapsed buildings," one rescue volunteer told al-Araby TV. 

"We just need heaver tools and equipment to be able to get them out in time." 

Turkish fact-checkers warn against online misinformation

Pseudo-science and online misinformation are preying on people's fears in the aftermath of the earthquake as people try and make sense of the destruction.  

Baseless theories, incorrectly attributed footage have all been fuelling panic in the MENA region - leading Erdogan's communications chief to warn Elon Musk that misinformation "can cost lives and slow down our efforts".

Read the full story here: 

Buildings and lives under threat in Libya's Tripoli

Monday's earthquake 'strongest in 800 years'

The earthquake that struck Syria was the strongest in at least 800 years. Read our story accessible free of charge. @TheSyriaReport
https://t.co/CL078nojph pic.twitter.com/cMXUMS6Oww

— Jihad Yazigi (@jihadyazigi) February 8, 2023

Amid the devastation, rare glimpses of relief and good news are being shared as search and rescue efforts bear fruit. 

Hello little girl! You are alive! The @RedCrossLebanon saving a girl in #Türkiye from the rubbles of what used to be her house, almost 48 hours after the #earthquakes Lebanon: tiny country,big heart. pic.twitter.com/MYGR5CeMvL

— Luna Safwan - لونا صفوان (@LunaSafwan) February 8, 2023

International aid is finding its way into Syria and Turkey - and from some unexpected sources. 

The Taliban has promised financial support "on the basis of shared humanity and Islamic brotherhood," despite facing some of the world's worst humanitarian conditions at home. 

Summary of events on Day 3 after the deadly earthquake: 

• A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkey-Syria border region, near the city of Gaziantep, in the early hours of Monday while people were sleeping 
• Then a 7.5 magnitude tremor hit around 13:30 local time in Kahramanmaras region 
• The death toll in Turkey has leapt to 7,108 as of Wednesday morning 
• The death toll in Syria has risen to at least 2,500, across government and rebel-held areas
• Search and rescue missions to Syria from Arab states are arriving via Aleppo airport while border crossings from Turkey remain difficult
• The US has sworn to deliver aid to Syria while refusing to work with the Assad regime
• Time is running out for survivors who remain trapped under the rubble for over 48 hours.