38 dead after earthquake hits Turkey

VAN, Turkey, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Emergency officials said Saturday 38 people are confirmed dead and 26 have been rescued after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey.

Among the victims of the Wednesday earthquake in the Van region were two Turkish journalists, Sebahattin Yilmaz and Cem Emir, CNN reported. Both reporters were covering the aftermath of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Van last month, during which 604 people died.

A snowstorm wreaked havoc throughout the area Saturday, slowing rescue efforts. The storm also made living conditions miserable for hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors living in tents and makeshift shelters.

"It's not possible for us to survive the winter here. The Van winter is very cold and there's a lot of snow. Living in these shelters is impossible," said Van resident Cezmi Fazla, who is now living in a hut his family constructed after his home was badly damaged by the earthquakes.

Fazla said he sent his three oldest children to stay with relatives in western Turkey after the first quake.

"We haven't gotten any aid," he said. "We got a lot of support from the people of Turkey, packages with everything from clothes to toothpaste. But the elected officials, the non-governmental organizations are not making good use of it and were not good at coordinating those efforts. So people feel very panicked. That's made a lot of people uncomfortable."