MM News

ISTANBUL: A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing at least 1400 people. Hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.

Turkish President Erdogan has announced that Turkey’s military is being swiftly deployed to assist in rescue effort in quake-affected areas.

Addressing live media, Turkish President Erdogan said the death in Turkey alone stood at 912, with at least 5380 people injured.

More than 1200 people lost their lives while thousands other injured as a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted central Türkiye and Syria early Monday and was followed by another strong temblor.

Addressing media on live TV, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said 284 people died, 2,323 people injured and some 1710 buildings have collapsed due to the powerful quake.

Turkish President Erdogan conveys get well wishes to all citizens affected by earthquake, adding country’s disaster agency AFAD and other units ‘on alert’.

Türkiye has declared a fourth level alert state. The “level 4” alarm condition includes an international call for help.

The quake was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. It was about 16 miles from the town of Nurdagi.

And in Syria, the Ministry of Health confirmed that 326 people were killed and nearly a thousand other injured in at least 4 regions bordering Turkey.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, while the EMSC monitoring service said the chance of a tsunami risk was being evaluated.

It was centered 11 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A strong 6.7 temblor rumbled about 10 minutes later.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles)to the east.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed images of people gathered around wrecked building in Kahramanmaras, seeking survivors.

The governor of Türkiye’s southeastern province of Sanliurfa province, Salih Ayhan, said on Twitter, “we have destroyed buildings” and urged people to move to safe locations.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) put the magnitude of the quake at 7.4 near Kahramanmaras and the larger city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border.

Syrian state media said a large number of buildings collapsed in the province of Aleppo, while a source in the Hama civil service said several buildings collapsed there.

“Paintings fell off the walls in the house,” said Samer, a resident of Damascus, the Syrian capital. “I woke up terrified. Now we’re all dressed and standing at the door.”

It was felt as far away as Beirut, journalists reported on social media.

https://twitter.com/BeirutAlyoum/status/1622428972658081792

مستشفى المقاصد الإسلامية #بيروت.#هزة_أرضية pic.twitter.com/yCPefBeQlP

— Abbas Srour عباس سرور (@AbbaSrour) February 6, 2023

Videos surfaced online on multiple social media platforms purported to show damages caused by the powerful earthquake.

https://twitter.com/poyraz_man/status/1622425885587415041

In Diyarbakir, a building opposite Namık Kemal High School neighborhood completely caved in, resulting in multiple casualties.

People in Damascus, as well as in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli ran into the street on foot and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case of collapses, witnesses said.

The area is regularly hit by strong earthquakes.

The head of the Turkish Red Cross said it was mobilising resources for the region as it had received information of serious damage and collapsed buildings, and urged people to evacuate damaged homes.