A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake which rocked wide areas of Turkey and Syria and toppled hundreds of buildings has claimed the lives of more than 2,300 people.
Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under the wreckage, and the toll is expected to rise as rescue workers search mounds of debris in cities and towns across the area.
Buildings were reduced to piles of flattened floors, and major aftershocks or new quakes, including one nearly as strong as the first, continued to rattle the region.
Rescue workers and residents in multiple cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated, “Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise.”
“Hopefully, we will leave these disastrous days behind us in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The quake, which was centered on Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, was felt as far away as Cairo. It sent residents of Damascus rushing into the street, and jolted people in their beds in Beirut.
On the Syrian side, the swath affected is divided between government-held territory and the country’s last opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is home to millions of refugees from that conflict.
The opposition-held regions in Syria are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments.
Hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization, called the White Helmets, said in a statement.
Strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with injured, rescue workers said. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured Monday’s quake at 7.8. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude one struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
An official from Turkey’s disaster management agency said it was a new earthquake, not an aftershock, though its effects were not immediately clear. Hundreds of aftershocks were expected after the two temblors, Orhan Tatar told reporters.
The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria said the earthquake has caused some damage to the Crusader-built Marqab, or Watchtower Castle, on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Part of a tower and parts of some walls collapsed.
In Turkey, meanwhile, the quake damaged a historic castle perched atop a hill in the center of the provincial capital of Gaziantep, about 33 kilometers (20 miles) from the epicenter.
Help Offers And Condolences Pour In
Offers of help, from search-and-rescue teams to medical supplies and money, poured in from dozens of countries, as well as the European Union and NATO.
U.S President Joe Biden has conveyed his condolences to those affected by the deadly quake and offered to send U.S. help to Turkey if needed.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria,” Biden wrote on Twitter, referring to Turkey by its preferred official name.
“I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance.”
President Joe Biden
Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson noted that the European Union “stands ready to offer our support” to Turkey as well. Sweden currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
The President of Turkey’s disaster management authority, Yunus Sezer, disclosed that more than 40 countries have so far offered help.
READ ALSO: Powerful Earthquake Hits Turkey, Kills At Least 600 People
