Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Hard Numbers: Turkey-Syria earthquake devastation

Photo composite of devastation in Turkey and Syria.

Photo composite of devastation in Turkey and Syria.

Annie Gugliotta

The death toll from Monday's earthquake in Turkey and Syria has now surpassed 20,000. Want to donate to help people in need? Consider these worthy causes: Ahbap Platform, Turkey Mozaik Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, UNICEF, Red Cross.

16: That’s how many unaccompanied babies have been flown from the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras to Ankara, the capital, after being rescued from the rubble. Presumably, most – if not all – are now orphans.


5,000: Lorries carrying aid entered northwestern Syria from Turkey on Thursday for the first time since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region. Still, Syria expert Charles Lister says these trucks contain enough to help just 5,000 people – at most – out of the more than 4 million Syrians in the northwest in need of assistance.

36: The European Union has sent a large delegation to the hardest-hit areas in Turkey, but so far EU rescuers have had success in rescuing just 36 people. The delegation also brought along 70 pups to search for survivors.

3,000: Roughly 3,000 White Helmet volunteers – a group of first respondents activated during Syria’s civil war – are combing through the rubble to find survivors in opposition-held northwestern Syria, where the death toll has already reached 1,930.

More For You

Protesters demonstrate against poor economic conditions in Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025.

Protesters demonstrate against poor economic conditions in Tehran, Iran, on December 29, 2025, with some shopkeepers closing their stores in response to ongoing hardships and fluctuations in the national currency.

ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
With economy in dire straits, Iranians take to the streetsIran saw its largest protest in three years on Monday, as traders and shopkeepers in Tehran shut their stores to show their displeasure at the government’s handling of the economy. The demonstrations are notable amid Iran’s intensified crackdown on dissent, including arrests of opposition [...]
​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump, after Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to help Ukraine "succeed," during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
50: Ukrainian President Volodoymyr Zelensky said he wants a 50-year security guarantee from the United States, far longer than the 15-year guarantee that US President Donald Trump reportedly offered. A peace agreement still looks unlikely, for now. What’s more, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a drone strike on one of President Vladimir [...]
​The Guinea-flagged oil tanker MT Bandra, which is under sanctions, at El Palito terminal, near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on December 29, 2025.

The Guinea-flagged oil tanker MT Bandra, which is under sanctions, is partially seen alongside another vessel at El Palito terminal, near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on December 29, 2025.

REUTERS/Juan Carlos Hernandez
In years past, US sanctions on Russia’s top two oil firms, a war between Israel and Iran, and American seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers would have been enough to spike oil prices.All of that happened this year. And yet, prices fell.Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, is down nearly 20% this year to just over $60 per barrel. Prices [...]
​US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a press conference after their lunch meeting at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump hails progress after Mar-a-Lago meeting with ZelenskyAfter meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine are “closer than ever” to a peace deal. Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone prior to the meeting. The [...]