Muhammad Najem

Scenes from First Moments of 7.8 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Scenes from First Moments of 7.8 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Scenes from A powerful earthquake struck Türkiye’s southern provinces and neighboring Syria, leaving at least 1,498 people dead within Turkish borders and killing more than 750 people in war-torn Syria.

A major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck southern Türkiye and northwestern Syria, killing over 2,300 people as buildings collapsed, triggering a search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said that the 7.8 magnitude quake struck at 4:17 AM (0117 GMT) Monday and was centered in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province.

AFAD earlier updated the intensity of the quake from 7.4 to 7.8 magnitude at 0955 GMT. A second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck the area less than 12 hours later, occurring 67km (42 miles) north-east of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, at a depth of 2km. This rare occurence of two large earthquakes happening mere hours apart is called a “doublet”.

At least 1,498 people have been reported killed across 10 provinces in Türkiye, according to AFAD; and 8,533 people were reported injured in the quakes that destroyed at least 2,824 buildings.

In Syria, the latest numbers from the regime’s health ministry and Syrian Civil Defence showed at least 783 people were killed from the quake. Injuries are being reported as over 1,280.

The quake in Türkiye occurred at a depth of 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) and was followed by 105 aftershocks, including two magnitude 6.6 and 6.5 quakes that struck southeastern Gaziantep province, according to the latest AFAD data. (The second large quake of 7.6 was in addition to these aftershocks).

 

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