Mass graves have been dug for the over 20,000 dead in the border region between Turkey and Syria following a 7.8 earthquake.
RELATED: Footage shows buildings collapse in Syria, Turkey after 7.8-magnitude earthquake
The international effort to provide food and shelter to victims of the killer earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria three days ago intensified Thursday as emergency personnel rushed tents and equipment into the battered region.
The confirmed death toll reached nearly 21,000 Thursday, surpassing the total from Japan’s Fukushima disaster in March 2011. That magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami, killing more than 18,400 people.
In some locations where hope of finding survivors had vanished, crews began demolishing buildings. Vice President Fuat Oktay said rescue work was mostly complete in the cities of Diyarbakir, Adana and Osmaniye.
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Hopefully they will build back with wood or reeds instead of cement.