Over 31 thousand people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye last Monday, the country’s disaster agency said on Sunday.

Last Monday’s magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

More than 233,000 search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Almost 148,000 people have been evacuated from quake-hit regions so far, AFAD said.

Over 2,500 personnel and 384 vehicles have been dispatched to the region for psychosocial support services, according to the disaster agency.

Citing Foreign Ministry data, the disaster agency said 9,369 foreign aid workers were dispatched to the disaster zone.

After the initial earthquake, hospital ships were created by the Turkish Navy to aid victims in the region.

Turkish Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer announced that education will be paused in 10 quake-hit provinces until March 1, while schools in Türkiye’s remaining 71 provinces will resume on Feb. 20.

Özer said there will be morning and evening education in areas as needed across 10 provinces so as to “use the capacity maximally and efficiently.”

In a separate press briefing, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said 4,104 people were killed and nearly 13,000 rescued in the southern Adıyaman province.

“There were pleasing developments in Adıyaman today. We rescued 10 people alive from the rubble. Recovery after six days was like a miracle,” he said.

He also said over 1,000 buildings have collapsed in Adıyaman while 1,158 others are severely damaged.

Late Sunday, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay held a press briefing announcing that services from 3 major Turkish telecommunications providers will be free for a month starting from the day of the quakes, but did not say if this was only in the earthquake zones or over a wider area.

On children found unaccompanied due to the quakes, Oktay said 503 of 574 children have been identified, as efforts to identify the remaining 72 children continue.

The powerful twin earthquakes which hit southern Türkiye earlier this week were three times stronger than the major 1999 Marmara earthquake in the country’s northwest, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday.

To inspect the ongoing search, rescue, and relief efforts, Erdoğan has so far visited Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adana, Gaziantep, Osmaniye, Kilis, Adıyaman, and Malatya, where he met earthquake victims.

He visited other quake-hit southern provinces of Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa on Saturday.

The Turkish parliament on Thursday approved a three-month state of emergency to speed up aid efforts.

The country is also observing seven days of national mourning in the wake of the disaster.

Condolences have poured in from around the world expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.