Enlarge image
1/12
The catastrophe hit people in their sleep.
On Monday night, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey and northern Syria.
Those who still made it saved themselves from their homes.
Despite this, the death toll continues to rise.
Photo: Burak Kara/Getty Images
Enlarge image
2 / 12
Severe devastation is reported from the Turkish cities of Adana and Gaziantep, among others.
From Kahramanmaraş there are pictures of numerous destroyed apartment buildings.
In the metropolis of Gaziantep, which was particularly close to the center of the earthquake, entire rows of houses have apparently collapsed.
There was also severe devastation in Aleppo, Syria, and in Hama.
Photo: REFIK TEKIN/EPA
Enlarge image
3 / 12
A person can survive without water for about 72 hours.
Until then, it is hoped that victims will still be able to be rescued from the rubble and not just their corpses.
On Tuesday morning the number of dead was 4800, 8000 people were rescued.
In the rebel areas of Syria in particular, however, the infrastructure is often lacking.
Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
Enlarge image
4 / 12
Temperatures in the disaster area are around freezing.
Thousands of people have become homeless, according to aid organizations.
Many people cannot return to their homes because they have collapsed or it would be too dangerous to return given the numerous aftershocks.
Photo: UMIT BEKTAS / REUTERS
Enlarge image
5/12
Syria has asked the international community for help.
It was recently unclear whether Israel is also sending auxiliary workers.
The two states are officially at war.
Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
Enlarge image
6 / 12
In Syria, the earthquake hit an ailing country.
Aleppo has already been largely destroyed in the war in recent years, and now the earthquake has robbed more people of their homes and their relatives.
Photo: FIRAS MAKDESI / REUTERS
Enlarge image
7/12
It is not the first time Turkey has been hit by a devastating earthquake.
On August 17, 1999, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook the densely populated region around İzmit, around 100 kilometers from Istanbul.
Around 18,000 people died and around 250,000 lost their homes.
In 2011, around 600 people died in a disaster in Van.
And yet the earthquake hit the country largely unprepared.
Photo: Mustafa Karali/AP
Enlarge image
8 / 12
There are two elongated continental seismic zones in Turkey: the North Anatolian and the East Anatolian Fault.
"It was a matter of time for something like this to happen," says researcher at the German Research Center for Geosciences, Marco Bohnhoff, in an interview with SPIEGEL.
»A series of large earthquakes was overdue.
One of them has now occurred.”
Photo: IHLAS NEWS AGENCY (IHA) / REUTERS
Enlarge image
9/12
According to the aid organization Care, an impending snowstorm could significantly aggravate the situation in the earthquake areas.
Many roads are impassable.
Volunteers lay out mattresses in gyms to give people a roof over their heads.
Photo: KHALIL ASHAWI/ REUTERS
Enlarge image
10/12
The world is on its way.
Many states send money or, like Pakistan, people directly to help on the spot.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz
(SPD) promised help from Germany.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced that the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) was preparing to deliver emergency generators, tents and blankets.
Photo: INTER-SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS (ISPR) / REUTERS
Enlarge image
11/12
Firefighters from Serbia have personal tracking dogs with them.
When searching for victims, every minute counts.
Photo: BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS
Enlarge image
12 / 12
The extent of the destruction is already unbelievable, like here in Syria.
But it's not over yet.
Several aftershocks shook the region, most recently a new earthquake occurred in central Turkey early Tuesday morning.
According to the European earthquake monitoring station EMSC, it had a magnitude of 5.6, meaning that the epicenter was at a depth of two kilometers.
Nothing is known about possible casualties or damage.
Photo: LOUAI BESHARA / AFP