U.N. food-agency chief tells of ‘apocalyptic’ scenes in Turkey

The head of the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) said on Saturday he was confronted with “apocalyptic” scenes as he visited earthquake-stricken areas in southern Turkey.
Strong earthquakes, which began on Feb. 6, have struck both Turkey and neighbouring Syria, killing more than 50,000 people according to the latest figures released on Friday.
“There is only one way to describe what I saw today: apocalyptic,” WFP Executive Director David Beasley said after visiting the city of Antakya in Turkey’s Hatay province.
“Entire neighborhoods have been flattened; homes destroyed, schools and shops closed; lives torn apart. The scale of devastation here is truly incomprehensible,” he said.
The official added in a statement that the situation on the Syrian side amounted to a “catastrophe on top of a catastrophe,” referring to the past 12 years of civil war.