At least 195 people were killed in a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey – knocking down buildings and causing devastation across the region.
The deadly tremor lasted about a minute and was felt as far as Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon – sending terrified residents into snowy roads to avoid being crushed in structures. dilapidated.
The epicenter of the earthquake was north of Gaziantep, Turkey, about 60 miles from the Syrian border.
The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said the magnitude 7.8 earthquake had killed at least 76 people in seven Turkish provinces. The agency said 440 people were injured.
Meanwhile, the death toll in government-controlled areas of Syria from Monday’s earthquake has risen to 99, according to Syrian state media citing the Health Ministry. In addition, at least 334 people were injured in Syria. Earlier, 20 people were reported to have been killed in rebel-held areas of Syria.
This brings the total number of deaths to 195 in Turkey and Syria.
Rescuers are seen in the Syrian city of Hama trying to pull people out of the rubble
Rescue workers in Adana, Turkey, are seen scrubbing debris
A destroyed building after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey on Sunday evening
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter that “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the earthquake-hit areas.
Vibrations from earthquakes can be felt for miles outside the epicenter
View of destroyed apartment in Yurt neighborhood of Cukurova district after earthquake in Adana, Turkey
The death toll in the area is expected to rise as rescue teams work through the night to search for people trapped under collapsed buildings.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to areas devastated by the quake.
“We hope that together we will get through this disaster as soon as possible and with the least amount of damage,” he wrote.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said there had been at least six aftershocks and he urged people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risk.
“Our priority is to get people trapped under dilapidated buildings out and transport them to hospitals,” he said.
Rescuers and residents used flashlights to search the tangled metal and concrete rubble in one of the hard-hit cities. People on the street shouted at others inside a partially toppled, dangerously tilted apartment building.
A Turkish citizen living in the United States, Eren Bali, tweeted footage showing collapsed buildings in his hometown of Malatya.
“Southeast Turkey was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that lasted 90 seconds,” he said.
‘More than 100 buildings are reported to have collapsed in my home city (Malatya) alone.’
In northwestern Syria, authorities in the region believe that entire buildings have collapsed and many people are trapped under the rubble.
The earthquake destroyed areas held by the opposition, where some 4 million Syrians have been displaced from other parts of the country due to the protracted civil war.
Many of them live in squalid conditions and receive little health care.
At least 11 people were killed in one town, Atmeh, and many others were buried in the rubble, a doctor in the town, Muheeb Qaddour, told The Associated Press by phone.
“We fear that the death toll is in the hundreds,” Qaddour said, referring to the rebel-held northwest.
‘We’re under tremendous pressure.’
The civil defense force urged people to evacuate buildings to gather in open areas.
Amjad Rass, president of the Syrian American Medical Association, said emergency rooms were full of injured people.
Meanwhile, the governor of the southeastern Turkish province of Sanliurfa, Salih Ayhan, said on Twitter, “we destroyed buildings” and urged people to move to safe locations.
View of the destroyed building after the earthquake that shook the provinces of Turkiye
It is believed that the death toll will rise to the hundreds
People trying to save people who were crushed under the rubble after the earthquake
The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was about 20 miles from Gaziantep, a large city and provincial capital.
Its epicenter was 11 miles deep, and a magnitude 6.7 aftershock rumbled about 10 minutes later.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, AFAD, said the quake was 7.4 magnitude and centered on the town of Pazarcik, in Kahramanmaras province.
The United States Geological Survey puts it at 7.8.
In Sanliurfa, at least 10 deaths have been confirmed, according to Governor Salih Ayhan.
Several buildings collapsed in the neighboring provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakir and Malatya.
View of the destroyed building after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the area
Buildings have collapsed in the tremors
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook central Turkey early Monday morning and was followed by a strong aftershock.
The quake comes as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue until Thursday
Syrian state media reported that several buildings had collapsed in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama.
In Damascus, buildings shook and many people took to the streets in fear.
“Paintings fell off the walls of the house,” said Samer, a resident of the Syrian city.
‘I woke up in fear. Now we are all dressed and standing at the door.’
In Lebanon, the quake startled residents out of their beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many Beirut residents leave their homes and hit the streets or drive away from buildings.
The quake comes as the Middle East is experiencing a snowstorm that is expected to continue through Thursday.
The head of the Turkish Red Cross said it was mobilizing resources for the area when it received information of severe damage and collapsed buildings, and urged people to evacuate their homes. damaged.
The country sits on top of major fault lines and is regularly shaken by earthquakes.
About 18,000 people were killed in the powerful earthquake that hit northwestern Turkey in 1999.
Vehicles were smashed as buildings collapsed in the earthquake
Destruction and cleanup teams are seen in Gaziantep tỉnh province
A building collapsed after an earthquake in Pazarcik, in the Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey.
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk
