More than 13 million people in Turkey were affected by the strong earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 respectively, which hit the Turkish-Syrian border region on Monday, according to the estimates of the Government in Ankara, DPA informs, Agerpres reads.

„This earthquake has directly affected 13.5 million of our citizens,” Turkish Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum said on Tuesday. Rescue operations continue, he said.

Some roads are still inaccessible and work is currently underway to make them passable again. In some regions there is no running water, but efforts are being made to repair the damage as quickly as possible and to provide people with drinking water, detailed the Turkish minister.

„The pain is indescribable,” he emphasized, adding that every hour is precious. Murat Kurum tried to encourage his compatriots, emphasizing that during the previous earthquakes several people were saved even after 100 hours.

The earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday caused the death of more than 5,000 people, according to new figures published on Tuesday, while rescue teams are still trying to pull survivors out from under the rubble, AFP notes.

Agerpres