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UNITED NATIONS – A second earthquake of at least 7.5 magnitude has struck Turkey and neighboring Syria, less than 12 hours after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit border areas, killing more than 2,700 people and leaving many others stranded. as missing or injured on Monday morning. According to the US Geological Survey, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was registered shortly after 4 a.m. local time on Monday, 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers. Churches, hospitals and apartment tower blocks are among the hundreds of buildings flattened – their occupants trapped under the rubble, caught unawares by the massive earthquake. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared seven days of national mourning after the deadly earthquakes that hit the country on Monday.
Turkish flags will be flown at half-mast throughout the country and in its diplomatic missions abroad. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said such a disaster could happen “once in a hundred years” and that his country should be prepared for the death toll to rise – already over 1,600 in Turkey alone. Oktay also said about 145 aftershocks were recorded after the deadly overnight quake, three of which were larger than magnitude 6.0. The death toll across Turkey and Syria has risen to at least 2,724 after the powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The total number of injured rose to 13,580, based on information provided by various agencies.
Turkey has at least 11,119 injured people and Syria has 2,461 injured after the earthquake. The total death toll in Syria has risen to 1,073. The SANA news agency reported 593 in government-held areas, and the White Helmets group, officially known as the Syrian Civil Defense, reported 480 deaths in opposition-held areas. The total death toll in Turkey has risen to 1,651, according to Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay.
The death toll from a strong earthquake in southeastern Turkey, near the border with Syria, could rise eightfold, the World Health Organization has warned. Countries around the world are sending support to aid rescue efforts, including specialist teams, sniffer dogs and equipment. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 kilometers (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep. . Seismologists said that the first earthquake was one of the largest recorded in Turkey. Survivors said it took two minutes for the shaking to stop.
The second earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5, and the epicenter was in Elbistan district in Kahramanmaras province. An official with Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said it was independent of the previous quake and was not an aftershock. The death toll in Turkey has exceeded 1,650, while around 1,000 have been confirmed dead in Syria. The WHO has warned that those numbers are likely to rise eightfold as rescuers find more victims in the rubble. “We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the number of people who have died or who have been injured will increase significantly in the week ahead,” the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe. Catherine Smallwood, told AFP. Ms Smallwood added that snowy conditions would leave many people without shelter, adding to the dangers.
Aftershocks are still being registered in Turkey and Syria tonight, more than 12 hours after the first earthquake that struck this morning. The tremors, which measured 7.5 magnitudes, are hampering rescue efforts in both countries, where hundreds are understood to remain trapped under the rubble. In the past hour, an earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale was felt 3 kilometers west of Goksun in Turkey, the US Geological Survey said. Another shock occurred at 17:46 in Dogansehir, Turkey, with a magnitude of 4.4.
Over 960 dead in Syria At least 968 people died Monday in Syria when buildings collapsed after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Turkey, state media and rescuers said. The quake killed at least 538 people and injured at least 1,353 others in government-held parts of Syria, including Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus provinces, the health ministry said. At least 430 people have been killed and more than 1,050 injured in rebel-held parts of the country’s northwest, the White Helmets rescue group said, warning that the toll could rise.
“Rescue efforts in northwest Syria are facing enormous difficulties” because heavy equipment is needed, said the group, which operates in rebel-held areas of the war-torn country. More than 160 buildings were reported to have completely collapsed, while 330 were partially leveled and thousands more were damaged. AFP correspondents in northern Syria reported that terrified residents ran from their homes after the quake struck before dawn near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometers from the Syrian border. Rescuers rushed to search for survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings, under the torrential winter rain. The Syrian government called on the international community to help it. More than a decade of conflict — which began with the regime’s brutal crackdown on largely peaceful protests — and years of economic sanctions have decimated the country’s economy and its ability to respond to large-scale disasters.
“Syria appeals to member states of the United Nations … the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian” groups to support “efforts to deal with the devastating earthquake,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Foreign Minister Faisal Makdad said his government was ready to “provide all the necessary capacities to international organizations to be able to provide humanitarian aid to Syrians,” after a meeting with UN officials and humanitarian groups.