After 11 days of a rising death toll, the road to recovery for both Turkey and Syria is getting underway.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit both countries has claimed the lives of over 46,000 people and is being labelled “the disaster of the century”.
While the death toll is expected to rise, the rate of deaths confirmed has slowed in the past couple of days.
The president of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMOBB), Eyup Muhcu, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would take a “considerable amount of time” to clear the rubble from destroyed buildings.
“It’s hard to put a timeframe on how long that would take since 10 provinces were affected, and that depends on the capabilities, organisation, and coordination of the public authorities,” Al Jazeera reported.
Muchu added that at-risk buildings will be demolished by the central government as well as various ministries.
“Local governments in provinces are not able to provide such services due to their limited means and resources, as they have lost staff members and buildings,” he said.
While it may take years to recover from the disaster, cleanup projects have begun across several cities in both Syria and Turkey.
The UN sent over 100 trucks to the north-western areas of Syria overnight with tents, heaters and cholera testing kits.
However, reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK -based monitoring group, claimed government forces and opposition groups clashed overnight in the affected areas.
This was the first clash between the two groups since the earthquake struck.
Turkish authorities reported over 40,000 people have been killed in the country. The Syrian government and the UN say more than 6,000 people have died there.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: Tents set up in affected areas of Syria
Image source: @UN_Women
