Two strong earthquakes are reported from the south-east of Turkey in the early morning. Syria is also affected. Hundreds of people die. The full extent of the disaster is not yet foreseeable, Turkey is asking for international help.
According to official figures, more than 630 people died in devastating earthquakes in south-east Turkey and north-east Syria. According to Vice President Fuat Oktay, 284 victims were counted in Turkey in the morning. More than 2,300 people were injured. For Syria, the Ministry of Health and first responders named 350 dead and more than 600 injured in several provinces.
A severe earthquake shook southeast Turkey early in the morning. The USGS gave the magnitude of the earthquake as 7.8. According to the civil protection agency Afad, the epicenter was in the province of Kahramanmaras near the Syrian border. Another earthquake was measured shortly afterwards in the province of Gaziantep. The information on the respective strength differ, the Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam assumed 7.7 and 6.2.
At least 1,700 buildings collapsed in Turkey. The earthquake, which killed hundreds, was felt in ten provinces, said Oktay. Residential buildings and a hospital in the city of Iskenderun were among the collapsed buildings. According to the newspaper "Hürriyet", a historic castle collapsed in Gaziantep.
In many places, a number of people are still suspected to be under the rubble. The state broadcaster TRT showed how people were freed from the rubble in the snow in the city of Iskenderun. Pictures were also shown from the cities of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Osmaniye, Diyarbakir and Adana, in which people were being transported away, some wrapped in blankets.
Rescue teams have been brought together from across the country, according to the Interior Ministry. Alert level four was declared and international help was requested. The civil protection agency Afad reported 66 aftershocks, some of them strong. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter, "We hope that together we will survive this catastrophe in the shortest possible time and with as little damage as possible".
According to Sana, buildings in numerous cities in Syria also collapsed. Photos showed rescue teams carrying people away on stretchers. According to Sana, the head of the National Seismological Center Raed Ahmed said this was the strongest quake to hit Syria since 1995. "We are responding with everything we can to save those who are under the rubble," said the head of the rescue organization White Helmets, Raed Al Saleh.
Numerous countries pledged help. Despite severe tensions with Turkey, Greece agreed to send rescue teams to the neighboring country's earthquake zone. "Greece will help immediately," said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Israel and Italy also want to provide humanitarian aid.
Turkey also receives help from its other NATO partners. Allies are in the process of mobilizing support, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter this morning. He himself is in contact with Turkish President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Stoltenberg wrote about his message: "Unlimited solidarity with our ally Turkey after this terrible earthquake."
The European Union sends rescue teams to Turkey. "Following the earthquake in Turkey this morning, we activated the EU civil protection mechanism," announced EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic on Twitter. Rescue teams from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also promised help. "Of course Germany will send help," Scholz wrote on Twitter and was dismayed by the news from the affected areas. "The death toll continues to rise. We mourn with the relatives and fear for those buried." Baerbock promised: "We will quickly get help on the way with our partners." One woke up "with terrible news" from Turkey and Syria, the Green politician also wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts are with the families of the victims of this terrible
The earthquake was also felt in Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus. In the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, people fled their homes for fear of a collapse, eyewitnesses said.
Turkey is repeatedly affected by severe earthquakes. Two of the largest continental plates meet there: the African and the Eurasian. In fact, most of the Turkish population lives in constant danger of earthquakes. In October 2020, more than 100 people died in Izmir in one of the most serious earthquakes in recent years.
In 1999, Turkey was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in its history: a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the region around the north-western industrial city of Izmit claimed the lives of more than 17,000 people. Experts are also expecting a strong earthquake in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, in the near future.
