Hundreds Killed and Injured in Deadliest Earthquake in Turkey and Syria
Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in a devastating earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, the worst in the region in more than two decades.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that at least 912 people were killed and more than 5,000 injured in the earthquake, describing the event as the biggest disaster in the country in decades, and said the death toll is likely to rise.
Erdogan noted that 2,818 buildings collapsed after the first quake and called it the country’s “biggest disaster” since a strong earthquake struck eastern Erzincan province in 1939.
“Everyone is putting all their hearts and souls into the effort, but winter, the cold weather and the earthquake at night are very difficult,” he told reporters at a press conference at the Disaster Management Coordination Center in Ankara.
“We do not know to what extent the number of victims will increase as efforts to remove the rubble of many buildings in the earthquake area continue,” he said.
“He said some 9,000 were taking part in the rescue operations, and that his country had received offers of assistance from NATO, the European Union and 45 countries.”
So far, 5,385 people have been wounded, 2,470 of whom were pulled from the rubble, he said.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 17.9 kilometers, according to the American Institute of Geological Survey. It measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Agency confirmed that the earthquake was measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, and was about 7 kilometers deep, and it took place at 4:17 a.m. local time.
The epicenter of the quake was in the Bazargek region of Kahramanmaraş province in southeastern Turkey.
The damage came as the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said it recorded a second 7.6 magnitude earthquake, centered on Kahramanmaraş in the southeast of the country, on Monday.
The Turkish Maritime Authority said that the port of Iskenderun in the southern province of Khatay was damaged by the strong earthquake. Following damage-monitoring inspections, the authority said on Twitter that operations are ongoing at ports near İskenderun.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday that its armed forces have established an air corridor to enable search and rescue teams to reach the areas affected by the strong earthquake that hit the south of the country.
The statement quoted Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying, “We mobilized our aircraft to send medical and search and rescue teams, as well as their vehicles, to the earthquake zone.”
In Syria, 592 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the quake, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health and relief teams.
The official Syrian news agency SANA, citing the Ministry of Health, said 371 people were killed and 1,089 wounded in government-controlled areas in a new toll that is being updated as the search for survivors continues under the rubble.
The ministry had earlier reported 339 dead.
Most of the cases were in the provinces of Latakia, Tartus in the west, Aleppo in the north and Hama in the center.
In areas outside the control of Damascus, the White Helmets reported 221 dead and 419 wounded, saying the number was likely to rise “because there are hundreds of families under the rubble”.
The organization, which operates in areas under the control of jihadist and opposition groups, warned of “great difficulties” for its teams and the need for “heavy equipment to rescue”.
Journalists in northern Syria reported entire buildings overhead. “The damage appeared to be severe in areas closer to the Turkish border, such as the towns of Azaz, Jarablus (north of Aleppo), and Sarmadā (north of Idlib).”
The quake was the largest in Turkey since an August 17th, 1999 earthquake killed 17,000 people, including 1,000 in Istanbul.
The earthquake was felt in south-eastern Turkey, as well as in Lebanon, Cyprus and Armenia, correspondents said.
Videos have surfaced on social media showing destroyed buildings in several cities in southeastern Turkey.
Journalists in Diyarbakır, the large southeastern city, saw a collapsed building, and rescuers were working to pull people out of the rubble.
On Twitter, Turkish netizens shared the identities and locations of people trapped under the rubble in several southeastern cities.
Adana Mayor Zidan Karalar said two 17-story buildings and 14-story buildings were destroyed, TRT reported.
Buildings were destroyed in many cities in southeast Turkey, including Adiyaman and Diyarbakır, according to Turkish private NTV, raising fears of more casualties.
Disaster and emergency management and other units are “on alert,” Erdogan said in a tweet, saying rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the quake-affected areas.
“All our teams are on alert,” Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told Turkey Now television. We’ve issued a level four alert. This is an appeal” for international help, he said.
The EU has sent rescue teams to Turkey, which has also been hit by a massive earthquake in Syria, said European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janis Lenarcic.
“Following the earthquake in Turkey, we activated the civil defense mechanism in the European Union (…) and teams from the Netherlands and Romania headed,” the EU official tweeted.
A European Commission spokesman said the aid was at the request of Turkey.
Germany, Italy and France offered to help people in the affected areas as well as Belgium, Poland, Spain, Finland and Sweden.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted, “We are following the news of the earthquake in the border region between Turkey and Syria amid shock.. Germany will definitely send help.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France is “ready to provide urgent assistance to the population” in Turkey and Syria after a massive earthquake killed hundreds in the two countries.
“We have received terrible pictures from Turkey and Syria after an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude. We sympathize with families who have lost members.”
Turkey is located in an area with some of the highest seismic activity in the world.
In late November, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, injuring about fifty people and causing limited damage, according to Turkish ambulance services.
In January 2020, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Elazig region, killing more than 40 people.
In October of the same year, a 7-magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean Sea, killing 114 people and injuring more than 1,000.
