Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared the country's 10 earthquake-affected provinces an emergency area and imposed a state of emergency in them, he said Tuesday on Turkish television channels.

"We are declaring the regions affected by the earthquake a state of emergency zone. It has been decided to impose a three-month state of emergency in these 10 provinces," he said.

The Turkish leader pointed out that "these measures are forced because of the consequences caused by the earthquakes." Introduction of the state of emergency, according to him, "guarantees the rapid and effective search and rescue activities".

Erdogan cited his constitutional powers as the reason for the regime change in the regions.