Map: Magnitude 7.8 earthquake kills more than 1,700 in Turkey and Syria
Terrain map showing the epicenter of the earthquake in eastern Turkey, close to the country’s border with Syria. Very strong shaking was felt close to the Turkish town of Gaziantep, about 100 km north of the Syrian capital of Aleppo.
A huge earthquake killed at least 1,700 people and injured thousands more on Monday in central Turkey and northwest Syria, flattening apartment blocks and heaping more destruction on Syrian cities already devastated by years of war.
The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon. It was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake of magnitude 7.7.
It was Turkey's most severe quake since 1999, when one of similar magnitude devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.
Strongest earthquakes since 1900
Earthquakes of magnitude 5 and above in and around present-day Turkey and Syria.
Scatter plot graphic that shows most earthquakes in Turkey and Syria 5 and 6 but nearly 100 have occurred with magnitudes between 6 and 7 with the highest being an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in 1939 in Erzincan, Turkey.
Live footage from Turkish state broadcaster TRT showed a building collapse in the southern province of Adana after the second quake. It was not immediately clear if it was evacuated.
In Syria, already wrecked by more than 11 years of civil war, the health ministry said about 430 people had been killed and more than 1,000 injured. In the Syrian rebel-held northwest, a United Nations spokesperson said 255 people had died.
A man carries a girl following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A member of Search and Rescue Association (AKUT) with a sniffer dog searches survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Adana, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan
Dead bodies in bags lie on the floor in a hospital, following an earthquake, in Afrin, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano
People gather as rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Sources
United States Geological Survey; Shuttle Radar Topography Mission; Natural Earth
