Number of Deaths in Turkey from Earthquakes Reaches 48,000

President Recep Erdogan has confirmed that the tragic earthquakes in Turkey’s Southeast have taken the lives of 48,000 people and left over 115,000 injured. In a televised address from Hatay province’s Samandag district, Erdogan stated, “The death toll has reached 48,000 and the number of injured has exceeded 115,000.” On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 shook the southeastern regions of Turkey with a nine-hour gap between them. The thousands of aftershocks that followed were felt in 11 Turkish provinces as well as in neighboring countries such as Syria.