Diyarbakir/Ankara: A massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, killing nearly 300 people as buildings collapsed in the snow-covered region, prompting a search for survivors trapped in the rubble.
The tremors of the winter morning earthquake were also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.
“I’ve never felt like this in 40 years,” said Erdam, a resident of Gaziantep, Turkey, near the epicenter, who declined to give his name.
“We were shaken violently at least three times, like a baby in a cradle.”
Turkey’s disaster agency said 76 people were killed and 440 injured, while authorities sent aid teams and planes to the affected area, while declaring a “level 4 alarm” for international aid.
“Everyone is sitting in their cars or trying to drive to open spaces away from buildings,” Erdem said by telephone.
White House national security adviser Jack Sullivan said on Twitter that the United States is “deeply concerned” about the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and is closely monitoring events.
“I have been in contact with the Turkish authorities to let them know that we are ready to provide any and all assistance,” he said.
The U.S. is profoundly concerned by today’s destructive earthquake in Turkiye & Syria. I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye.
— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) February 6, 2023
The region straddles seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.
A statement from his office said President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with the governors of the eight affected provinces to gather information about the situation and rescue efforts.
Syrian state media said more than 100 people were killed and dozens injured, mostly in Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces, where several buildings collapsed.
A member of the White Helmets Rescue Organization said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to the town about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish border, “The situation is very sad, tens of buildings have collapsed in the town of Salkin.” “.
A rescuer on the clip, which showed a street covered in debris, said homes were “completely destroyed”.
Many buildings in the area have already been damaged by fighting during Syria’s nearly 12-year-old civil war.
In Damascus, and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, people ran into the streets and into their cars to escape if their buildings collapsed, witnesses said.
In Gaziantep, Turkey, Erdem also said people had fled their shaking homes and were too afraid to return.
Focus on search and rescue.
The quake lasted about a minute and at least 17 buildings collapsed, according to JEE News witness in Diyarbakir, 350 kilometers (218 miles) east, where a security official said.
Officials said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmania.
Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people being pulled from the rubble, moving stretchers and searching for survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.
“Our main task is to do search and rescue and to make sure that all our teams are on alert,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.
The German Research Center for Geosciences said the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), while the EMSC monitoring service said it was assessing the risk of a tsunami.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a series of aftershocks after the initial quake, with a magnitude of 7.8. A 6.7 earthquake struck Gaziantep and another 5.6 earthquake struck the Noordag area of the city.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority put the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.4 near the Syrian border in Kahramanmaras and the major city of Gaziantep.
Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital Ankara, 460 km (286 miles) northwest of the epicenter, and in Cyprus, where police reported no injuries.
“The earthquake hit an area we were worried about. There has been extensive damage,” Kerem Canc, head of the Turkish Red Crescent aid agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.
Turkey is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 1999, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Izmit, southeast of Istanbul, killing more than 17,000 people. In 2011, an earthquake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500 people.
