Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that the death toll from major earthquakes in the country rose to 20,213 while 80,052 people were injured as a result.
Speaking in Malatya, Erdoğan also said the government will provide relocation aid and rent support for the people from the earthquake-hit zone.
The response of search and rescue teams to the massive earthquakes in the country's south was not as fast as the government wanted, Erdoğan said in a statement.
"Although we have the largest search and rescue team in the world right now, it is a reality that search efforts are not as fast as we wanted them to be," Erdoğan said, adding that the death toll in the country had climbed to 20,213.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanliurfa.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of fewer than 10 hours.
Erdoğan on Thursday said the quakes in southern Türkiye can be described as "the disaster of the century," adding that the state has mobilized all its means to help the victims.
Inspecting the ongoing search, rescue, and relief efforts, Erdoğan has so far visited Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adana, Gaziantep, Osmaniye, and Kilis, Adiyaman, and Malatya, where he met with earthquake victims.
The Turkish parliament on Thursday approved a three-month state of emergency to speed up aid efforts.
The country is also observing seven days of national mourning in the wake of the disaster.
Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.
