happening now, mass destruction in more than 3,400 people dead after a powerful earthquake, and dozens of after o armageddon. stand by for new reporting on the catastrophes in turkey and syria as rescuers search for survivors and the death toll keeps rising and rising. also tonight, u.s. officials reveal new information on the size, cape abilities and the vae of the downed balloon. amid rising u.s./china tensions, and as president biden faces new international emergencies, he s also engaged in last-minute preparations for his state of the union address. we ll tell you what the president just said about his prime time speech to congress and the nation a little over 24 hours from now. welcome to our viewers here in the united states, and around the world, i m wolf blitzer, you re in the situation room. let s get right to the unfolding earthquake disasters in turkey and syria and its truly devastating toll. cnn s jomana karadsheh is in istanbul. one of the most powerful quakes t
hello. i m abby philip in washington. a desperate search is under way for survivors after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck turkey and syria. the death toll is now more than 2500 and aid from across the world is pouring in. the aftermath of this is catastrophic. this was the strongest earthquake to hit that area in more than 100 years, and it struck while nearly everyone was asleep. hundreds of people this hour are still believed to be trapped. massive high rises reduced to rubble, as more than 50 aftershocks some as strong as 7.5 magnitude, make matters even worse for rescue crews. one survivor capturing this horrific moment that the building collapsed. floor after floor falling as people run from a massive debris cloud. nearby, another collapse. look at this. and video of dramatic rescues are also coming in. this child pulled from the wreckage. crews are now hoping to uncover more miracles in the rubble. cnn s scott mcclain will lead us off here. scott, a massive r
china which was scheduled for this weekend. as lawmakers react to the incident here at home, senate majority leader chuck schumer says the entire senate will receive a classified briefing on china february 15th. charles watson is live on the south carolina coast near where debris from the spy flight rained down. also standing by, congressman ryan zinke, who represents montana where that flight was respondented lingering over a nuclear silo field. first though, lucas tomlin stomp s live at the white house. reporter: moments ago, the u.s. military issued a statement that the u.s. navy has begun recovery operations off the coast of south carolina. they are combing waters about 7 miles wide and 47 feet deep. now, earlier on fox news sunday senator tom cotton says that spy ballooning should have been shot down when it crossed over the aleutian islands which is u.s. air space in alaska. what began as a spy balloon has become a trial balloon testing president biden s strength an
downing street says talks with the eu over a brexit deal covering northern ireland have been positive , raising hopes of a new agreement. also in northern ireland. a fifth person s been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of the off duty police officerjohn caldwell in omagh. and, we report on the huge relief effort in turkey and syria, to try to help people who have lost everything in the catastrophic earthquakes. some of these guys have been flying around 2000 hours since the earthquake struck. they say they were medically evacuating casualties for hours, but they say they will keep going as long as they can. ukraine s president zelensky has said he plans to meet china s leader, xijinping, to discuss beijing s proposals on ending the war in ukraine. he made the comments in a question and answer session in kyiv, to mark the first anniversary of the russian invasion. translation: first of all, i am planning to meet - with xijinping and i think it will be benefici
with the united states says with a chinese surveillance balloon, roughly six nautical miles off the coast of south carolina. well within u.s. territorial airspace. the balloon crashed into the atlantic ocean, creating a debris field at least seven mile spread out in relatively short shallow water. the recovery of that debris is ongoing, including navy divers, the coast guard, and other manned and unmanned salvage feedback vessels. the fbi counter intelligence agents are also on board the recovery vessels, officials say there are plenty to learn from that debris, but added that they have also been studying that balloon since it first entered u.s. airspace in the illusion islands of alaska, on january 28th. the balloon, which had maneuverability capabilities via small motors and multiple propellers entered canadian airspace on january 3rd, for troubled self crop crossing into the united states. president biden says he gave the order to shoot the balloon down on, wednesday but o