Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces hit by devastating earthquakes and several aftershocks that have killed thousands of people across southeastern Turkey.

“We have decided to declare a state of emergency to ensure that our [rescue and recovery] work can be carried out quickly,” Erdogan said in televised remarks on Tuesday, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The state of emergency was declared a day after a first 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in southern Turkey.

The tremor was followed by dozens of powerful aftershocks, including another magnitude 7.6 quake.

Turkey’s disaster agency has raised the death toll from the earthquake again to 6,234, Reuters reports.

The number of those injured there rose to 37,011, the agency said, adding that more than 79,000 personnel were engaged in search and rescue operations mon the Turkish side of the border.

With Syria’s death toll climbing to 2,470, the combined number of people killed in the disaster currently stands at 8,704, and is exopected to contiune to rise throughout the day, according to The Guardian.

In his speech, Erdogan said 70 countries had offered help in search and rescue operations and that Turkey planned to open up hotels in the tourism hub of Antalya, to the west, to temporarily house people affected by the quakes.

He said the death toll in Turkey had risen to 3,549, with the total number of people killed, including those in northern Syria, exceeding 5,000.