JUST IN: Turkey’s president declares three months state of emergency in earthquake zones

Following the devastation and loss of lives caused by the earthquakes, the Turkish President, Recep Erdogan, has declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces worst affected.

Erdogan who has been the country’s leader for almost 20 years said the death toll in Turkey’s earthquakes has risen to 3,549 people while more than 1,600 people are reported to have died in Syria, the British Broadcasting Corporation stated.

In a televised address on the issue, Erdogan noted that the state of emergency was to ensure that rescue work can be “carried out quickly” in the affected areas particularly, the southeast region of the state.

He added that the measures would allow relief workers and financial aid into the affected regions.

Turkey last imposed a state of emergency that lasted for two years in 2016 after a failed coup attempt.

The PUNCH had reported that 7.8 magnitude tremor struck on Monday at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep, according to the US Geological Survey.

A later tremor had a magnitude of 7.5 and its epicentre was in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.