More than 2,300 people are dead and countless thousands injured after several earthquakes, the most powerful measuring 7.8 magnitude, struck a region near the Turkiye-Syria border. See some of the harrowing scenes of the earthquakes aftermath and the massive rescue efforts underway. 

After a devastating earthquake, the death toll will likely increase due to aftershocks after buildings have already been weakened, sometimes as much as eight times the initial numbers, says Catherine Smallwood, Europe’s Senior Emergency Officer for the WHO. 

In Syria, the impact of the earthquake will likely exacerbate the suffering of many who have lived through more than a 10 years of Syria's civil war and refugee crisis. Millions of Syrian refugees also live in Türkiye.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.