Read Turkey’s Pain. The death toll from the earthquake is over 1500.
More than 1,500 people have been killed in the powerful earthquake, and rescuers are racing to pull survivors from the rubble after a devastating earthquake ripped through Turkey and Syria, leaving destruction and debris on all sides of the border.
One of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in a century jolted residents from their beds at around 4am on Monday and sent tremors as far as Lebanon and Israel.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake was 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
About nine hours later, a large aftershock of magnitude 7.5 struck Turkey, according to the USGS. The aftershock occurred 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the original quake.
Video from Turkey showed rows of collapsed buildings collapsing, some with flats exposed, as people huddled in the cold next to them, waiting for help.
At least 912 people have been killed and 5,385 injured in Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address on Monday. In neighboring Syria, at least 592 people have been killed, including 371 mostly in Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus, and 1,089 wounded, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.
The White Helmets, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, also reported at least 221 deaths and 419 injuries in opposition-held areas of northwestern Syria. Much of northwestern Syria, which borders Turkey, is controlled by rebel forces amid a bloody civil war that began in 2011.
Syrian rescuers (white helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria’s Idlib province, bordering Turkey, early on February 6, 2023.
Syrian rescuers (white helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria’s Idlib province, bordering Turkey, early February 6, 20.
Monday’s quake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of that magnitude killed 30,000 people, the USGS said. Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare, averaging fewer than five each year anywhere in the world. Seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have struck Turkey in the past 25 years – but Monday’s was the most powerful.
Carl Lang, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech University’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, told CNN that the area hit by Monday’s earthquake is prone to seismic activity. “It’s a very large fault zone, but this is a bigger earthquake than any they’ve experienced in recent memory,” Lang said.
“It feels like it’s never going to end,” said journalist Eyad Kurdi, who lives in Gaziantep and was staying with his parents when the quake hit early Monday.
When the shaking stopped, Kurdi and his parents left their home still in their pajamas, he said.
Several inches of snow fell on the ground, and they stayed outside in the rain for about 30 minutes before he could get his coat and boots back on.
Southern and central Turkey felt strong aftershocks. About 11 minutes after the main earthquake, the strongest aftershock of magnitude 6.7 occurred 32 kilometers (20 mi) northwest of the epicenter. Another strong aftershock of magnitude 5.6 occurred 19 minutes after the main earthquake.
Kurdi said the 7.8-magnitude quake was followed by eight “very strong” aftershocks in less than a minute, knocking belongings from his home to the ground. He said many of his neighbors had left their homes after the earthquake.
Images emerged in Turkey as the day dawned showing the true scale of the disaster. Metal rods were strewn across the streets and entire buildings were leveled. Cars were overturned while bulldozers worked to remove the debris.
“Lakhs of people have been affected because of this. It’s cold. It’s rainy. Roads can be affected, meaning your food, your livelihood, taking care of your children, taking care of your family,” said CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
“Anything that is grown across this region or anything like crops will be affected. The ramifications are far-reaching and will affect the region for weeks, and even months.
Looking for survivors
Search and rescue teams have been sent to the south of the country, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said. AFAD, the disaster agency, said it had requested international assistance through the European Union’s humanitarian program, the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC).
Nearly 1,000 search-and-rescue volunteers have been deployed from Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, along with dogs, trucks and aid, its governor, Ali Yerlikaya, said.
“Sorry for our loss. I wish our wounded a speedy recovery,” Yerlikaya wrote on Twitter.
The governor of Gaziantep, Davut Gul, tweeted that the earthquake was strongly felt in our city, and advised the public to stay out of their homes and remain calm.
“Please let’s not panic and stay outside. Let’s not use our vehicles. Let’s not crowd the main roads. We don’t keep the phones busy,” he said.
Gaziantep province has a number of small and medium-sized cities with significant refugee populations, according to Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“Some of these areas are quite poor. Some are more affluent, urban areas … but other parts we’re talking about seem devastated, relatively low-income areas,” she said.
Search and rescue teams have been sent to the south of the country, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said. AFAD, the disaster agency, said it had requested international assistance through the European Union’s humanitarian program, the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC).
Nearly 1,000 search-and-rescue volunteers have been deployed from Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, along with dogs, trucks and aid, its governor, Ali Yerlikaya, said.
“Sorry for our loss. I wish our wounded a speedy recovery,” Yerlikaya wrote on Twitter.
The governor of Gaziantep, Davut Gul, tweeted that the earthquake was strongly felt in our city, and advised the public to stay out of their homes and remain calm.
“Please let’s not panic and stay outside. Let’s not use our vehicles. Let’s not crowd the main roads. We don’t keep the phones busy,” he said.
Gaziantep province has a number of small and medium-sized cities with significant refugee populations, according to Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“Some of these areas are quite poor. Some are more affluent, urban areas … but other parts we’re talking about seem devastated, relatively low-income areas,” she said.
A few moments ago, another strong shock.
Another earthquake has occurred in Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Turkey.
The United States Geological Survey has stated that the magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at 7.5 on the Richter scale.
Elbistan is located about 80 miles north of Gaziantep, where the first earthquake occurred this morning.
This second earthquake occurred at 1:24 pm local time.
An official from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said it was not an “aftershock” and not a shock from this morning’s earthquake.
At least 70 deaths have already been reported in Kaharamanmaras after the first earthquake.
Foreign media have reported that it is still unclear what the impact of this second earthquake was after the shock that occurred early this morning, which killed more than 1,200 people.
(Excerpted from the CNN news report.)