The deadly earthquakes in Turkey’s Southeast have claimed the lives of 48,000 people, according to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and injured over 115,000 more.

“The death toll has reached 48,000 and the number of people injured has exceeded 115,000,” Erdogan declared in a televised address to the country from the Samandag region of Hatay province.

You may remember that on February 6 there were two earthquakes in the southeast of Turkey with magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 that occurred nine hours apart.

Following this, there were thousands of underground shocks felt in 11 provinces of Turkey and neighboring nations, with Syria being the most affected.

The first earthquake was as big as the most powerful one ever recorded there in 1939 and was the most catastrophic to strike earthquake-prone Turkey in more than 20 years. It was situated close to Gaziantep in south-central Turkey, which is also home to numerous humanitarian relief agencies and thousands of Syrian refugees.

With collaboration between AFAD and the Turkish Red Crescent, the Turkish government is taking the lead in the response there. A level-4 emergency was proclaimed by state authorities, prompting a request for help from other countries. In ten of the nation’s provinces, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proclaimed a three-month state of emergency.

International relief demands were quickly met by rescue teams and humanitarian offers from governments all over the world. The United Nations refers to Turkey’s home country as Türkiye in English (UN).