Rescuers are desperately searching for survivors in southern Turkey and northern Syria after two huge earthquakes on February 6.
Nearly 8,000 people have lost their lives in Turkey and Syria following the earthquakes.
More than 7,800 people have been killed, but there are warnings the death toll could continue to surge. Thousands of buildings have been destroyed and among the buildings damaged by the earthquake is Gaziantep Castle.
As search efforts continue into a second freezing-cold night, time is running out for rescuers to find survivors under the rubble.
Relatives of victims who lived in collapsed buildings have joined frantic rescue efforts in one of the worst-hit Turkish cities, using pickaxes and crowbars.
Some anguished families have said rescue services took too long to respond in some areas.
Photo by Eren Bozkurt/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The first 7.8 magnitude quake struck near Gaziantep in the early hours of February 6, followed by a 7.5 magnitude tremor hours later.
The death toll from the devastating earthquake has now jumped to more than 7,800 people. A breakdown of the figures by AFP news agency says 5,894 people died in Turkey and at least 1,932 are reported dead in Syria.
The north-west region of Syria is home to millions of refugees displaced by civil war since 2011.
Control of the area is divided between the Syrian government, Kurdish-led forces and other rebel groups, hugely complicating the distribution of aid.
The United Nations says damage to roads is also hindering the aid effort.
Italy’s earthquake death toll has risen to at least 120, PM Matteo Renzi has said.
Other 368 people have been injured in the earthquake that hit a mountainous area of central Italy, he added.
The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 03:36 local time, 65 miles north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia.
Many of the dead were in the historic town of Amatrice, where the mayor said three-quarters of the town was destroyed, and in nearby Accumoli.
Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble.
“This is not a final toll,” Matteo Renzi warned as he gave the latest figures.
The prime minister had earlier paid tribute to the volunteers and civil defense officials who had rushed to the scene in the middle of the night and used their bare hands to dig for survivors.
Photo ANSA
He promised “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind”.
The earthquake was felt across Italy, from Bologna in the north to Naples in the south. There have been dozens of aftershocks.
Hardest hit were the small towns and villages in the mountainous area where the regions of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.
Italy’s civil protection department said that at least 73 people were now known to have been killed.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it had recorded more than 200 aftershocks by 15:00 on August 24.
Italy is no stranger to earthquakes: in 2009 a tremor killed more than 300 people in L’Aquila and in May 2012 two tremors nine days apart killed more than 20 people in the northern Emilia Romagna region.
Rescue teams from around the country have been sent to the affected region.
The area is mountainous and access is difficult. Tent camps are being set up for those who need shelter, while others will be accommodated in buildings such as gymnasiums.
Many of the people affected are on holiday.
The national blood donation service has appealed for donors to come forward.
Mediterranean seismicity is driven by the great collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates; but when it comes down to the specifics of this latest quake, the details are far more complicated.
The Tyrrhenian Basin, or Sea, which lies to the west of Italy, between the mainland and Sardinia/Corsica, is slowly opening up.
Scientists say this is contributing to extension, or “pull-apart”, along the Apennines. This stress is compounded by movement in the east, in the Adriatic.
The result is a major fault system that runs the length of the mountain range with a series of smaller faults that fan off to the sides. The foundations of cities like Perugia and L’Aquila stand on top of it all.
Ecuador has declared 8 days of national mourning a week after the devastating earthquake that killed at least 646 people.
In a speech announcing the national mourning, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has said the number of fatalities has risen to 646 and another 130 people were still missing.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Ecuadorean coast on April 16, injuring thousands and destroying many towns.
It was the worst tragedy to hit the South American nation in decades.
“These have been sad days for the homeland. The country is in crisis,” Rafael Correa said on his weekly TV broadcast on April 23.
Rafael Correa praised the 27 countries who sent rescue teams over the past week and said that 113 people had been rescued alive from the rubble.
“This is an amazing figure, which made all this effort worthwhile,” he added.
The president also announced that “in the next few hours” he would sign a decree declaring eight days of national mourning.
“It has been a national tragedy, but we will recover,” he said.
More than 12,000 people were treated over the past week across the country for injuries caused by the earthquake, said Rafael Correa.
Foreign nationals from the Colombia, Cuba, the UK, Ireland, Canada, and the Dominican Republic have been confirmed among the dead.
Major international and aid organizations have sent help.
The cost of rebuilding could be up to $3 billion, President Rafael Correa said during a visit to the worst-affected region.
The World Bank has agreed to lend $150 million to help Ecuador cope with the financial costs of the quake.
The tragedy comes at a time when the oil-producing country is already reeling from the slump in global crude prices.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the Ecuador earthquake had struck at a fairly shallow depth of 12 miles, about 17 miles from Muisne in a sparsely populated area.
At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in the second earthquake that hit Nepal on May 12, officials say.
At least 17 have also died in India.
The 7.3-magnitude earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake.
It hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
The April 25 quake’s magnitude was 7.8.
The latest quake struck at 12:35 Nepali time and was centered about 47 miles east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.
The quake was felt in northern India, Tibet and Bangladesh. India’s home ministry said 16 people had been killed in the state of Bihar, and one more in Uttar Pradesh. Officials in China said one person was confirmed dead in Tibet.
Rescue helicopters have been sent to districts east of Kathmandu that are believed to be worst hit.
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