Groups scramble aid as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll reaches 20,000

Humanitarian organizations and rescue teams rushed to help more survivors of the devastating earthquake and its aftershocks along the Turkey-Syria border, where more than 20,000 people have died and tens of thousands are injured.

Fresh snowfall, freezing temperatures and a disrupted cross-border operation between southern Turkey and war-torn northern Syria added to the despair, frustration and anger over the pace of recovery efforts and a mounting death toll that the U.N. health agency said was likely to keep climbing.

But after several days an initial convoy of trucks bearing U.N. aid was able to enter oposition-held northwest Syria on Thursday, bringing medical kits, food and other supplies.

"With the weather conditions and ongoing aftershocks, we’re in a race against time to save lives," said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "People need shelter, food, clean water and medical care, for injuries resulting from the earthquake, but also for other health needs."

WHO rushed flights to the nations' capitals, Istanbul and Damascus, bearing medical supplies and surgical trauma kits from its logistics hub in Dubai. It also sent 77 national and 13 international emergency medical teams.

'Worst we've ever seen'

Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks leveled towns and cities across the two nations, deepening existing humanitarian crises with a staggering need for massive search-and-rescue operations, food and other basic items, and years of rebuilding.

The World Food Program's Executive Director David Beasley called it "the worst we've ever seen" in more than a century in the Syria-Turkey region, where his agency was already "planning on providing rations for about half a million people – millions and millions of meals over the next three months."

As more bodies were pulled from the rubble of destroyed homes and city buildings, the death toll from the earthquake and its aftershocks in the two nations rose to about 20,000, according to Turkish and Syrian governent officials.

More than 16,546 people have been confirmed dead in southeastern Turkey, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while at least 3,317 people were reported killed in Syria.

'Not possible to be prepared'

The world’s deadliest earthquake in more than a decade also exposed weaknesses in humanitarian aid networks, ranging from damaged roads to limited access brought on by geopolitical wrangling.

As hopes faded for survivors trapped for days under the wreckage of thousands of buildings, Erdoğan conceded that his nation's response to the massive disaster has been fraught with "shortcomings"

On a visit to Hatay province, where residents have complained of a slow rescue effort and more than 3,300 people have died, Erdoğan, who is up for re-election in May, pointed to the cold winter weather and a destroyed airport runway as factors. He has announced a state of emergency to facilitate the nation's emergency work.

"It is not possible to be prepared for such a disaster," he said, though he disputed critics' some "lies and slander" about the government's capabilities. "We will not leave any of our citizens uncared for."

The Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and northern Syria – the last one authorized to remain open by the U.N. Security Council due to pressure from Syria's ally Russia that forced the closure of three others – was disrupted by road damage that hampered rescue efforts, according to U.N. officials.

An appeal for 'no political hindrances'

The initial convoy of trucks bearing U.N. aid finally got through Idlib's Bab al-Hawa crossing and reached the oposition-held area of northwest Syria.

"The war and conflict has been going on now for 12 years, and the country is effectively divided at least in three different parts, and two areas have been particularly hard hit, the areas in the northwest and then areas under government control as well," said Geir Pederson, the U.N. special envoy for Syria.

"So, what we need to make sure now is that there are no political hinderances to the aid needed getting to the people that are affected," he said.

The border crossing is a lifeline that serves more than 4 million people in Syria, where the emergency is compounded by more than a decade of conflict and outbreaks of measles and cholera that have burdened the fragile health system. About 85,000 cholera cases have been reported from Syria since late August.

"We continue to be very concerned about areas that are inaccessible because of the earthquake," said WHO's representative in Syria, Iman Shankiti. "We are still assessing hospitals and access to services."

This story has been updated with additional details.