A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey early Monday morning, according to USGS, followed by several powerful aftershocks felt all across the region. The jolts caused a widespread destruction with multiple multi-storey buildings collapsed, according to disturbing footage captured by witnesses.
Multiple buildings collapsed, reportedly burying people under the rubble
📹 | #BREAKING: Buildings collapsed across cities close to the #earthquake epicenter in #Türkiye's Kahramanmaras. pic.twitter.com/oSaSK38fcm
— EHA News (@eha_news) February 6, 2023
BREAKING: First footage is emerging after a M7.8 earthquake in central Turkey.#Turkey #Earthquake
pic.twitter.com/5nJL41NFhO
— Global News Network (@GlobalNews77) February 6, 2023
📹 | #BREAKING: Aftershocks in several #Turkish cities with a magnitude of over 6 after the massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 in Kahramanmaras, #Türkiye.pic.twitter.com/ajelGyUkvy
— EHA News (@eha_news) February 6, 2023
People are stuck under rubble while sending out live streams or videos requesting help. #earthquake #Turkey pic.twitter.com/SxTzPzFAmn
— Nerdy 🅰🅳🅳🅸🅲🆃 (@Nerdy_Addict) February 6, 2023
Powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits in southern Turkey.
There are reports of several hundred dead.#earthquake #DEPREMOLDU #Turkey #deprem #diyarbakır #amed #depremoldu pic.twitter.com/5u7kjztad5
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) February 6, 2023
Across the border in Syria, several residential buildings reportedly collapsed in Aleppo as well as the city of Hama, according to local media. The quake was so powerful that shakes were felt all across the region, as far as Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus.
The quake happened around 4:16 am local time and was centered some 30 kilometers from Gaziantep, a major provincial capital with a population of over 2 million people.
There was no immediate estimate of casualties, but according to Turkish media reports, multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed across Gaziantep and the neighboring provinces of Diyarbakir and Malatya, with their residents feared trapped under the rubble.