A
powerful earthquake
measuring
7.8 on the Richter scale
struck
Turkey
early Monday morning .
The tremor, which had at least one strong aftershock,
collapsed buildings
and left an initial death toll of five.
In addition, hundreds of
trapped people
were left in the rubble.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported that search and rescue teams have already been mobilized.
"We hope to get through this disaster together," he said.
The quake affected southeastern Turkey, although it was also felt
in other countries, such as Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus and Syria
, where buildings also collapsed.
The epicenter of the main tremor, which lasted about 30 seconds at around 4:17 local time (01:17 GMT), was the Kahramanmaras region, about
600 kilometers southeast of Ankara
, at a depth of seven kilometers, the Management Presidency specified. of Disasters and Emergencies (AFAD).
Collapsed building in Turkey.
In an initial report, the government confirmed that five people died after the quake.
The first live images on Turkish news networks showed collapsed buildings.
And although at the moment no victims were reported, there were reports of people trapped under the rubble and messages of despair on social networks.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported
another 6.7 magnitude quake
with an epicenter near the first about 15 minutes later, 9.9 kilometers deep.
In addition to the disaster in Kahramanmaras, several buildings collapsed in the neighboring provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakir and Malatya, HaberTurk television reported.
The Syrian state press reported the collapse of some buildings in the city of Aleppo, in the north of the country, as well as in Hama, in central Syria.
In northwestern Syria, under rebel control and bordering Turkey, several buildings have collapsed, the opposition Syrian Civil Defense reported.
They claimed that the situation there was "disastrous".
Turkey is located in
one of the most active seismic zones in the world
.
The southern region of Gaziantep is a major industrial and manufacturing center of the country.
Experts have long warned that a major earthquake could devastate Istanbul, allowing widespread construction without safety precautions.
Ripples in the water of a fish tank in Diyarbakir, Turkey, from an earthquake.
Photo Reuters /via Reuters TV
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Elazig in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.
And in October of that same year, another of magnitude 7.0 shook the Aegean Sea, causing 114 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries.
Earthquake in Turkey: "People are in a panic"
Yildirim Kurt, a farmer living near Kahramanmaras, explained to the EFE news agency that the people in the area "are in panic."
"We woke up with a strong earthquake. Our house did not collapse but everything inside the house has fallen to the ground," he said.
"Our neighbors' house has collapsed. We have a problem with communications. We are all outside, in the open air. I was able to speak with relatives in nearby towns. They say that many buildings have collapsed there," Kurt said.
Earthquake in Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
issued a message on his social networks
, minutes after the earthquake.
"I convey my best wishes to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and was felt in many parts of our country. All our relevant units are
on alert
," Erdogan posted.
"Our search and rescue teams were
immediately dispatched
to the areas affected by the earthquake. Our Ministry of the Interior and Health, AFAD, Governorates and all other institutions started their work quickly," the Turkish president continued.
And he concluded: "We also coordinated the activities started after the earthquake. We hope to overcome this disaster together as soon as possible and with as little damage as possible."
News in development
With information from EFE and AFP
DS
look too
China-US tension: a relationship on the verge of derailing at any moment
Strong warning from the Pope: "There are wars everywhere that cause the self-destruction of the world"