Over 1,300 Killed After Earthquake Strikes Turkey and Syria

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake Early Monday morning, a devastating earthquake struck northern Syria and southern Turkey, killing over 1,300 people and destroying countless buildings. 

After the earthquake, there was a rush to find survivors among the rubble of cities and towns throughout the region. It is possible that the death toll will rise.

Both countries’ residents were awakened by the earthquake several hours before sunrise and ran outside to escape the cold, rain, and snow. Many buildings were toppled in cities around the region.

Residents and rescue workers searched for survivors in the rubble of damaged buildings in many cities across both countries.

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A car can be seen underneath the rubble of a fallen building in Azmarin, northern Syria.

Witnesses in Adana, Turkey, said that one person called for help from under a building’s rubble. 

“I don’t have the strength to carry on,” According to reports, the person said. 

Rescue teams and cranes worked together in Diyarbakir to remove a pile of concrete floors made from pancaked concrete that used to be an apartment building.

Syria’s earthquake displaced approximately 4,000,000 people from opposition-held areas. Other parts of Syria Due to the country’s civil war. Many people live in poor conditions and receive very limited healthcare. 

According to Muheeb Qaddour, a doctor in Atmeh, at least 11 people were killed and many more were buried under the rubble.

“We fear that the deaths are in the hundreds,” Qaddour spoke about the rebel-held northwest. “We are under extreme pressure.”

It could be felt even as far as Cairo. It was about 60 miles away from the Syrian border.

Turkish authorities stated that there were at least 20 aftershocks that followed the initial quake hour later. The strongest measured a magnitude of 6.

People look through the rubble of a building that has been destroyed in Azmarin, Idlib province in northern Syria.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Twitter user @sudden_report wrote that rescue and search teams were dispatched immediately to the affected areas.

“We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” He wrote.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management agency reported at least 76 people dead in seven Turkish provinces, as well as 440 people injured. According to Syrian state media, the death toll from government-held areas in Syria rose to 237 and at least 630 were injured. Reports indicate that at least 47 people were killed by rebel forces.

Turkey’s authorities urged residents to avoid driving on the roads. Residents trying to escape the affected areas caused traffic jams that impeded rescue efforts. People who are unable to return home to their homes due to freezing temperatures have been provided shelter by mosques in the area.

Emergency workers and medical teams work together to rescue residents trapped in a building that collapsed after an earthquake struck Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey.

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The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense claimed that the rebel-held area of northwest Syria was in a dire state. “disastrous” It appears that many buildings have been destroyed and people are still trapped in the rubble. Civil defense advised citizens to evacuate buildings, and to meet in open areas.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was located approximately 20 miles from Gaziantep. It was 11 miles deep.

Residents in Lebanon were also awakened when the earthquake rattled buildings for 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut fled their homes, and many drove away in their cars from the buildings.

This report was contributed by The Associated Press

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