Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 of the nation’s provinces Tuesday.

Turkey, and neighboring Syria, are reeling from two consecutive earthquakes — the area’s strongest in practically a century — which have devastated large swathes of territory, taking lives and buildings with it.

At time of writing, the dying toll from the quakes is above 5,000, with many nonetheless lacking and critically injured. And shortly after the seismic catastrophe left tens of hundreds of individuals homeless, a brutal winter storm set in, threatening but extra lives.

The quakes, which befell 9 hours aside and measured 7.8 and seven.5 on the Richter scale, respectively, destroyed at the least 6,000 buildings, many whereas individuals had been nonetheless inside them. Rescue efforts are persevering with — Turkey’s authorities has deployed practically 15,000 search and rescue personnel — and nations world wide have pledged help, however emergency staff in each nations say they’re fully overwhelmed.

Syria, already crippled from years of battle and terrorism, is the least ready for such a disaster. The affected areas are dwelling to hundreds of internally displaced individuals already residing in dire circumstances like tents and makeshift shacks, with little or no well being and emergency service infrastructure to depend on.

With the mud of the disaster nonetheless settling, regional analysts are zoning in on the longer-term impacts it might have on Turkey, a rustic whose 85 million-strong inhabitants was already mired in financial issues — and whose navy, economic system, and president have a serious affect far past its borders.

It is a breaking information story, please verify again later for extra.