A massive earthquake measuring 7.8 struck Turkey and bordering country Syria in the early morning hours on Monday, February 6, at 4:17 am local time. It was followed by several strong aftershocks, and then a second quake on the same fault line but about 60 miles north of the first one, nine hours later, measuring 7.5 The earth shook as far away as Israel.
More than 3,000 buildings collapsed in 14 cities in central Turkey after the initial quake, and 1000s of people were killed in Turkey and in northern Syria.
The epicenter was 20 miles from Gaziantep, Turkey. The first quake was centered 11 miles deep.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the death toll had reached at least 1,541 people in Turkey alone, with 9,733 more injured. The death toll is expected to rise.
Photos on news sites and social media show damaged buildings, including mosques, schools, and businesses, with debris strewn all over the street. Shocked pedestrians can be seen frantically fleeing as residential buildings crumbled.
In Syria, the earthquake hit the war-ravaged north border and hundreds of people were killed. Damage occurred in 16 Syrian cities.
Rescuers worked into the daylight hours and continue to rescue people trapped under the rubble of fallen buildings, working in freezing temperatures.
The United Nations and several countries, including the Israeli government, volunteered to send aid to Turkey and Syria. This is a rare move for Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he had authorized the help.
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said it was the country’s largest disaster since 1939, and that thousands of buildings had collapsed in the earthquakes and during the several massive aftershocks.
In 1939, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Erzincan in eastern Turkey and killed more than 30,000 people. It was the worst disaster in Turkey’s history.
