Death toll from earthquakes rises to 2,316 in Türkiye

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Trkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has raised the death toll from Monday's powerful earthquakes to 2,316, as the rescue teams are racing against time to save people trapped under the rubble in cold and rainy weather.

The AFAD also noted that at least 13,293 people were injured and 5,606 buildings destroyed after devastating earthquakes, adding that a total of 14,720 people are currently providing assistance in the disaster zone, including military personnel.

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Trkiye's southern province of Kahramanmaras at 0417 a.m. local time (0117 GMT). It was followed by a magnitude-6.4 quake a few minutes later in the country's southern province of Gaziantep and a magnitude-7.6 earthquake at 0124 p.m. local time (1024 GMT) in Kahramanmaras Province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday declared seven days of national mourning for the victims of an earthquake.

"A national mourning period has been declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our national and foreign representative offices," Erdogan tweeted.

Monday's earthquake is believed to be the strongest in Trkiye since the magnitude-7.9 tremor in eastern Erzincan Province that killed 33,000 people in 1939.

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

People search for survivors among the rubble of a building destroyed in a powerful earthquake in Pazarcik District, Kahramanmaras Province, Trkiye, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)