International Desk/

A 3-month state of emergency has been declared in the 10 provinces most affected by the earthquake in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced this on Tuesday. BBC news

At a press conference in Ankara, Erdoğan said that at least 3,549 people died in the terrible earthquake that occurred in southeast Turkey.

The Turkish president said that the areas affected by the earthquake have been identified and declared as disaster areas in 10 provinces.

He said that the purpose of declaring a state of emergency is to properly conduct search and rescue operations in the affected areas and identify everything specifically. Erdogan said that the presidential and parliamentary process will be completed quickly to implement this decision.

Meanwhile, a week of national mourning has already been announced in Turkey in memory of the victims of the terrible earthquake. Erdoğan made this announcement in a tweet message on Monday.

A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit the border region of Turkey and Syria early Monday morning local time. Just 11 minutes later, another earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck. The death toll from the earthquake has exceeded 5,100, according to Reuters. Several thousand people were injured in the incident.

The strong earthquake has also caused extensive damage in neighboring Syria. The country’s authorities said that 1,600 people died in the Syrian part.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are still trapped in the rubble. In all, more than 5 thousand buildings collapsed. The rescue operations are also being hampered due to snowfall, rescue workers said.