Nearly 600 people died from earthquakes in Turkey

The Turkish government confirmed 596 people were killed and more than 4,100 were injured by the earthquake last week, after ordering all activities to search for victims.

>>>The cause of a terrifying earthquake in Turkey

RIA Novosti quoted the Turkish Emergency Department as saying that 188 people were rescued yesterday. Earlier Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay announced that rescuers found 231 people still living in the rubble.

Earlier, Turkish authorities counted 582 deaths and about 1,650 were injured after a 7.2-magnitude Ricther earthquake in Van province on October 23. More than 2,260 buildings collapsed because of the earthquake. This is the most intense seismic attack since the earthquake killed at least 17,000 people in Turkey in 1999.

Some shops opened in Ercis city, which suffered the most after the earthquake. Electricity is provided in some areas of the city. However, very few of the 100,000 people in the city of Ercis returned home due to fear of aftershocks. A magnitude 5.3 aftershock occurred yesterday.

A government website said more than 43,000 tents have been distributed in the province of Van. Officials say this number does not meet the needs of the people because they dare not stay indoors.

"Our house is unharmed but we live in the tent for fear. We will return to the house after the aftershocks no longer exist," said Fadli Kocak, owner of a bakery in Ercis.

Many people are lining up to receive tents today. But officials say they will check each house to determine who will receive tents. A person will only be allowed to receive a tent if their landlord is unsafe.

"Most of us slept outdoors. The people in my village were given coal and blankets but there were no tents. We went to Ercis city every day to ask the government to release tents, but they told us to wait." Mehmet Siddik Demirtas, head of village Yukari Isikli, told. Yukari Isikli is about 10km from Ercis city.