Devastating earthquake hits Türkiye

Multiple buildings collapsed, burying people under the rubble

A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Türkiye early Monday morning, according to USGS, followed by several powerful aftershocks felt all across the region. The jolts caused a widespread destruction with multiple multi-storey buildings collapsed, according to disturbing footage captured by witnesses.

The quake happened around 4:16 am local time and was centered some 30 kilometers from Gaziantep, a major provincial capital with a population of over 2 million people.

There was no immediate estimate of casualties, but according to Turkish media reports, multiple buildings were damaged or destroyed across Gaziantep and the neighboring provinces of Diyarbakir and Malatya, with their residents feared trapped under the rubble.

📹 | #BREAKING: Buildings collapsed across cities close to the #earthquake epicenter in #Türkiye's Kahramanmaras. pic.twitter.com/oSaSK38fcm

— EHA News (@eha_news) February 6, 2023

Across the border in Syria, several residential buildings reportedly collapsed in Aleppo as well as the city of Hama, according to local media. The quake was so powerful that shakes were felt all across the region, as far as Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus.

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