UN aid chief calls quakes that hit Türkiye, Syria ‘worst event in 100 years’ in region

The UN relief chief on Saturday described the powerful earthquake that jolted southern Türkiye and northwestern Syria earlier this week as the "worst event” to hit this region in a century.

“What happened here on Monday, the epicenter of the earthquake, was the worst event in 100 years in this region,” Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told a news briefing in Kahramanmaras, southern Türkiye – the province where the quakes were centered.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes on Monday affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that at least 21,848 people have been killed and 80,104 others injured since the twin earthquakes hit southern Türkiye on Monday.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.​​​​​​​