Erdogan says its impossible to prepare for such a massive disaster

NetBlocks tweeted that real-time network data showed a restriction of the social media site across numerous major internet providers…reports Asian Lite News

Amid the steadily rising toll in Monday’s devastating earthquake and grown dismay over the government’s response, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that it was “not possible to be prepared for a disaster this big”, but now the situation was under control, media reports said.

Visiting Hatay, one of the region’s hardest hit by the earthquake, he told reporters the official death toll had climbed to 15,383.

Defending his government’s response, he hit at those claiming they had not seen any security or rescue personnel.

“This is a time for unity, solidarity. In a period like this, I cannot stomach people conducting negative campaigns for political interest,” he added.

Visiting the badly-impacted city of Kahramanmaras, he told residents that the rescue effort was now “under control” and “getting easier”, blaming initial delays to the government response on damaged roads and airports hampering the delivery of emergency aid.

Amid criticism from opposition figures and on the ground, Turkey is said to restricted access to Twitter, the BBC reported, citing internet monitoring service NetBlocks.

NetBlocks tweeted that real-time network data showed a restriction of the social media site across numerous major internet providers.

As rescuers are racing against time to find more survivors in Turkey and Syria amid the harsh freezing temperatures, the death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck the two countries earlier this week has increased to 15,383 as of Thursday, according to authorities.

In its latest update, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said the country’s overall death toll currently stood at 12,391 people, with 62,914 others injured, reports Anadolu News Agency.

More than 6,000 buildings collapsed in the aftermath of Monday’s massive 7.8-magnitude quake, while more than 13 million people have been impacted so far in the 10 Turkish regions of Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis.

In Syria, there were at least 2,992 deaths, of which 1,730 were reported in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the “White Helmets” civil defence group, and 1,262 fatalities were registered in government-controlled parts of the country, says the state media, CNN reported.

Since the disaster struck on Monday, 70 countries and 14 international organisations have offered Turkey relief, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

However, the international aid situation in Syria is less clear as the Country has been heavily sanctioned due to the ongoing civil war.

So far, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and India have sent relief directly to regime-controlled airports, reports CNN.

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