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Turkey began deploying thousands of troops to areas hit by two major earthquakes after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a three-month state of emergency.

Latest earthquake: Turkey declares state of emergency, death toll rises

The death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria is approaching 8,000, while more than 11,000 buildings were damaged by Monday’s earthquakes, many trapped by freezing temperatures.

Iraq said it had resumed oil flows to the key export terminal in Ceyhan after Turkish authorities announced a temporary halt following the first major earthquake. The Turkish government is overwhelmed by the extent of the infrastructure damage, the logistical problems and the assistance needed to help the 13.4 million people living in the disaster area. Dozens of countries have offered their help so far.

Important developments

• Iraqi Kurdistan says oil pumping has resumed in Ceyhan: ministry

• Turkey orders resumption of crude oil flows at Ceyhan terminal

• CityLab Daily: The city most affected by the earthquake in Turkey

• BTC oil port will remain closed until Wednesday after earthquake (port official)

• Two earthquakes in Turkey kill thousands: Middle East newsletter

(Every hour Istanbul, GMT +3)

Turkey sends orders to earthquake zone (7:50 a.m.)

The Turkish army sent thousands of commandos and other units to the earthquake zone from barracks in the west of the country and in Cyprus.

Before the start of the last mobilization period, 7,500 soldiers were already participating in the rescue operations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday evening.

Turkey death toll nears 6,000 (3:45 a.m.)

Turkey’s vice president says the country’s death toll has risen to 5,894. In Syria, at least 1,832 people have been killed in government and rebel-held areas, according to an AP report .

Scenes of young children, a pregnant woman and other victims still being brought to safety highlight the thousands of people who have been rescued so far.

Main opposition leader blames Erdogan (02:24)

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition CHP party, said he would not treat disaster management as something “above politics”, adding that President Erdogan was responsible for mistakes and “corruption “which aggravated the damage.

“I don’t have to stand in solidarity with Erdogan and his palace,” Kilicdaroglu said in a video posted to Twitter. Erdogan has held talks with numerous opposition leaders since the tremors, but has not called Kilicdaroglu.

Iraqi Kurdistan says oil flows will resume to Ceyhan (00:44)

Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish government said it had resumed crude oil shipments to the port of Ceyhan on Tuesday evening.

Death toll exceeds 5,000 (9:35 p.m.)

Turkey’s death toll has risen to 5,434 with more than 31,000 injured, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Turkish Ministry of Finance allows companies to declare force majeure (8:11 p.m.)

Turkey’s Ministry of Finance and Treasury has extended until July 31 the deadline for paying taxes and other debts to the government for companies in quake-affected areas.

Egyptian Sissi offers his condolences and help to Erdogan (18:54)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has offered Turkey humanitarian aid to overcome the tremors, a statement said. Turkey and Egypt have recently started to normalize relations after years of strained relations.

Turkish stocks enter bear market (6:16 p.m.)

The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 closed down 8.6% on Tuesday in a broad selloff, with Turkish Airlines and refiner Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS weighing on the bar. The index, which is the worst-performing major stock market in the world this year, fell 20% from its peak on Jan. 2, entering a technical bear market.

The country’s market regulator’s lifting on Tuesday of a temporary deposit rule that requires traders to hold shares in their brokerage account to execute trades likely exacerbated the decision, which was the biggest drop since March 2021.

Thousands grappling with devastation in northern Syria (5:51 p.m.)

In northern Syria, a region grappling with death, destruction and displacement from war and conflict for more than a decade, people have tried to use scarce resources to respond to the aftermath of the quake. of devastating land and aftershocks. “This disaster is much bigger than us, we need state intervention,” Ismail Al-Abdullah, co-founder of the White Helmets Emergency Response Force, told Bloomberg.

Mohamed Hamze, spokesman for the Syrian American Medical Society, said there was an urgent need for medical and surgical supplies. He called on global players to work with Turkey to open all key border crossing points between Syria and Turkey to allow relief and rescue equipment, teams and supplies to arrive as soon as possible.

About 4.4 million people live in northwestern Syria. The area is controlled by a hodgepodge of rebel groups – some of which are backed by Turkey after several cross-border offensives in recent years.

Erdogan declares state of emergency (2:53 p.m.)

Turkey’s president has declared a three-month state of emergency in ten provinces to deal with the aftermath of the twin earthquakes.

The state of emergency, which must be approved by parliament, would allow the government to take extraordinary security and financial measures in the affected areas.

Turkey orders resumption of crude oil flow to Ceyhan terminal (11:20 a.m.)

Turkey has ordered the resumption of oil flows to its Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean, according to an official with direct knowledge of the matter. The state pipeline operator stopped flow as a precaution Monday morning and ordered it to restart after completing its checks, the official said, adding that flow will begin shortly.

Iraq hopes to pump oil through Turkey again on Tuesday afternoon after security checks revealed no damage.

–With the support of Selcan Hacaoglu, Firat Kozok, Beril Akman, Taylan Bilgic, Ugur Yilmaz and Patrick Sykes.

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