The prominent areas of Turkey and Syria were hit by a mega earthquake in the wee hours of Monday. Turkey known to be the most active earthquake zone suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The powerful quake caused a massive aggregate of casualties. The death toll and injured counts are above a hundred. Let’s understand the earthquake conditions in depth.
Powerful Quake Leads To Serious Damage To Property & Life In Turkey & Syria
Kahramanmaraş’ta meydana gelen ve ülkemizin pek çok yerinde hissedilen depremden etkilenen tüm vatandaşlarımıza geçmiş olsun dileklerimi iletiyorum. İlgili tüm birimlerimiz AFAD koordinasyonunda teyakkuz halindedir.
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023
According to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Organization, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck seven Turkish regions caused at least the death of 76 people. Meanwhile, the number of fatalities from the Monday incident in Syria’s government-held regions increased to 99. Additionally, there were estimated 440 & 334 injuries in Turkey & Syria, respectively.
Buildings collapsed at night due to the earthquake while people were asleep. Hence citizens got no time to escape and succumbed to injuries and death. The incident has caused a total death toll of 195 for both regions.
Also Read: Earthquake of 3.4 Magnitude Felt in UAE
Century’s Most Powerful Earthquake In The Middle East
Southeast Turkey was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that lasted 90 seconds. Over 100 buildings were reported to have collapsed in my home town alone (Malatya).
People waiting for rescue are reporting their locations at #DEPREMOLDU pic.twitter.com/RVN3acqBcc
— Eren Bali (@erenbali) February 6, 2023
According to the US agency, the powerful quake occurred at 04:17 local time (0117 GMT) at a range of roughly 17.9 kilometres (11 miles). Post that around 15 minutes later, a 6.7-magnitude tremor occurred.
The initial earthquake’s magnitude was estimated by Turkey’s AFAD emergency service centre to be 7.4.
The quake was among the strongest to strike the area in nearly a century. Rescuers and locals hastily combed through the wreckage of collapsed buildings in numerous cities across both sides of the border looking for survivors. Numerous people in one earthquake-stricken Turkish city broke apart pieces of concrete and bent metal. Residents on the street called up to those within an apartment complex that was perilously tilting and partially fallen.
The shockwave of this quake was felt across many cities in the Middle East. The epicentre of the earthquake, which was felt as far away as Cairo, was located around 90 kilometres from the Syrian border, to the north of the city of Gaziantep.
The region in Turkey is home to millions of Syrian refugees and contains a number of significant cities.
The snowstorm in Turkey is expected to last till Thursday which acted as a trigger element for this earthquake.
Cover Image Courtesy: Twitter/Dr. Omar Suleiman