[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]On Monday, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in southern Turkey killed more than 50 people and was felt in Cyprus, Lebanon, and Syria, collapsing dozens of buildings and sparking a search for survivors under the rubble in snowy streets.
Turkish authorities dispatched rescue teams and supply planes to the region around Kahramanmaras, declaring a “level 4 alarm” that requires international assistance.
According to preliminary reports, at least 23 people were killed in Turkey’s Malatya province, 17 in Sanliurfa, six in Diyarbakir, and five more in Osmaniye. State media in Syria reported 42 deaths south of the border.
“I’ve never felt anything like it in my 40 years,” said Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the epicentre of the earthquake, who declined to give his surname.
“We were jolted at least three times, like a baby in a crib.”
“Everyone is sitting in their cars or attempting to drive to open spaces away from buildings,” he explained over the phone. “I doubt anyone in Gaziantep is in their homes right now.”
According to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km (218 miles) to the east, the tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows. A security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.
According to local authorities, 16 structures in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye collapsed.
TRT and Haberturk broadcasted footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers, and searching for survivors in Kahramanmaras, which was still dark.
“Our primary job is to conduct search and rescue operations, and all of our teams are on alert to do so,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), and the EMSC monitoring service is assessing the risk of a tsunami.
Following the initial tremor, which had a magnitude of 7.8, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported a series of subsequent earthquakes. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, followed by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake in the city’s Nurdag neighbourhood.
The magnitude of the quake, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), was 7.4 near Kahramanmaras and the larger city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
