In still provisional reports, the Turkish and Syrian authorities reported more than 3,700 dead. A call for international assistance has been launched.
A devastating earthquake. At dawn on Monday February 6, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey. The tremors caused significant damage and killed more than 3,700 people in Turkey and Syria, according to the authorities’ reports, which are still provisional. A call for international assistance has been launched. Here is what we know about this deadly disaster.
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A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits southern Turkey
The violent earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Monday at 4:17 a.m. (2:17 a.m. Paris time). The epicenter is located at a depth of about 17.9 km, in the district of Pazarcik, in southeastern Turkey, according to the American seismological institute USGS (in English). This area is about 60 km as the crow flies from the Syrian border.
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The quake caused damage across southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria. The tremors were also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents.
Since the very strong tremor, about fifty aftershocks have been recorded in Turkey, according to Afad, the Turkish government agency for disaster management. At the end of the morning, one of these aftershocks, near the Turkish town of Ekinozu, about a hundred kilometers from the first epicentre, reached a magnitude of 7.5. It can be considered a real “second earthquake which will have its own sequence of aftershocks”, estimates Christophe Voisin, seismologist at the CNRS, on franceinfo. It is not known if this other shock caused further casualties.
Turkey sits on one of the most active seismic zones in the world. Several earthquakes have occurred in recent years in the region. This earthquake is the largest in Turkey since the earthquake of August 17, 1999, which caused the death of 17,000 people, including a thousand in Istanbul.
More than 2,300 dead in Turkey
In Turkey, the still provisional toll stands at 2,379 dead and at least 14,483 injured, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Otkay announced overnight from Monday to Tuesday. A total of 7,840 people have been removed from the rubble and 4,748 buildings have completely collapsed, raising fears of even heavier tolls. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared seven days of national mourning in Turkey on Monday.
On Twitter, Turkish netizens posted the identity and location of people trapped under rubble in several towns in the southeast of the country. “I have experienced a number of earthquakes, but this time it is very strong”explained Ahmet Adjart, resident of Diyarbakır, a large city in the south-east of the country.
More than 1,400 dead in Syria
In Syria, the provisional toll of victims of the earthquake amounts to more than 1,400 dead, according to figures provided by the Syrian Ministry of Health and rescuers in rebel areas. In details, “1,431 injured and 711 dead” are to be deplored in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartous, reported the Syrian Ministry of Health. In rebel-held areas, at least 733 people were killed and more than 2,100 injured, according to the White Helmets (civil protection volunteers).
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The collapse of residential buildings is quite common in Aleppo due to illegal construction without solid foundations, but also cracks in structures caused by heavy fighting during the war that broke out in 2011.
A call for international help
As the provisional tolls continue to climb, the countries affected by the earthquake have appealed for international assistance. “All our teams are on alert. We have issued a level four alarm. This is a call, including for international help”, said the Turkish Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, on the Haberturk channel.
“Our teams are on alert to rescue survivors,” also affirmed the White Helmets, on Twitter. They call international humanitarian organizations “intervene quickly” to help the local population.
France stands ready to provide emergency aid to the populations on the spot.said Emmanuel Macron, referring to “terrible pictures”. Gérald Darmanin confirmed the departure of 139 French rescue workers for Turkey on Monday evening, as part of a system coordinated by the European Union, in which several other countries are participating.
Messages of condolences and offers of assistance have poured in from all over the world, especially from Greece, whose relations with Turkey are nonetheless stormy: “We must make all our forces available to Turkey according to what more it can ask of us”said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised “help needed” to his counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar Al-Assad. “Ukraine stands ready to send a large number of rescuers to Turkey”announced for his part the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba.