A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 33 kilometres (20 miles) from Gaziantep about 26 kilometres (16 miles) from the town of Nurdagi. Hours later, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck southeastern Turkey’s Kahramanmaras region.
It occurred at a depth of 7 km and the epicenter of the quake was Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras province. The earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes central Turkey later in the evening.
At least 1,600 were killed and thousands injured, and the toll was expected to rise.
Why Turkey-Syria earthquake was devastating?
The earthquake was powerful — especially for a quake that hit on land. Typically, very strong earthquakes occur underwater, Margarita Segou, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said.
On top of that, the quake hit near heavily populated areas. The epicenter was near Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in Turkey.
The affected regions were also home to vulnerable buildings, said Kishor Jaiswal, a USGS structural engineer.
While new buildings in cities like Istanbul were designed with modern earthquake standards in mind, this area of southern Turkey has many older high-rise buildings, Jaiswal said. Rapid construction in Syria — plus years of war — may have also left structures vulnerable, researchers said.
Officials reported thousands of buildings collapsed in the wake of the earthquake. They included “pancake” collapses, where upper floors of a building fall straight down onto the lower floors — a sign that the buildings couldn’t absorb the shaking, Jaiswal said. (AP)
In my country, Turkey, there have been earthquakes that have been continuing since last night, leaving great damage. Thousands lost their lives. The others die from cold weather and lack of help. Everyone lost their family. WE NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE RTWEETpic.twitter.com/9z69TsxlE1
— nik ki⁷🍇 (@meliodasima) February 6, 2023
Saddest pictures on internet today🥺💔#Turkey #PrayForTurkey #Turkiye #Tsunami #Syria
#earthquakeinturkey pic.twitter.com/wq8fG4y2f4— Sajid_Abbasy (@abbasy_sajid) February 7, 2023
