“Turkey’s largest earthquake since 1999…aftershocks continue, and 641 people are known to have died.” A 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in southern Turkey and bordering northern Syria in the early morning of February 6, local time. A large number of buildings collapsed. As of noon local time , It is known that at least 641 people have died. While emergency search and rescue are underway, the number of casualties is still rising. After the strong earthquake, more than 20 aftershocks occurred in the local area. The largest aftershock had a magnitude of 6.6. The Turkish authorities have declared a level 4 national alert and called for international humanitarian assistance. The affected areas in Syria belong to the Syrian government-controlled area and the rebel-occupied area. Due to the successive years of civil war, the area is crowded with displaced refugees, living conditions are poor, and medical resources are scarce; at present, Syrian official media reports, it is known that the government-controlled At least 237 people were killed in the area, and at least 120 people were killed in the rebel-held area.
The main shock occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time (approximately 9:17 a.m. Taiwan time). The epicenter was located in the northwest of Gaziantep in south-central Turkey, about 90 kilometers away from the Syrian border, with a focal depth of 17.9 The tremor was felt strongly in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. At 4:28 in the morning, there was another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7, with a focal depth of 9.9 kilometers; at 4:36, a strong aftershock of magnitude 5.6 occurred again, and more than 20 aftershocks occurred after the main shock.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu (Süleyman Soylu) said that in addition to the city of Gaziantep, which is close to the epicenter, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Adeya Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis were all severely affected.
On a rainy winter night close to zero degrees Celsius, countless local residents woke up due to strong shaking and rushed out of their houses. Houses collapsed in disaster areas in many cities, including Gaziantep, and rescue forces searched for survivors in the rubble; Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had ordered a search and rescue team to the disaster area, writing on Twitter:
“We hope to get through this disaster together as quickly as possible with minimal damage.”
Because a large number of Turkish residents are eager to leave the disaster area, causing traffic jams in the disaster area and hindering the movement of rescue teams, the government has urged people not to go on the road to keep the roads clear. At the same time, mosques around the disaster area have been used as emergency shelters, and disaster victims whose houses have been damaged are open to shelter.
This is the worst earthquake in Turkey since 1999. Reuters quoted a resident of Diyarbakir (Diyarbakir) in the disaster area as saying that the earthquake lasted about a minute, while a local security official said at least 17 buildings were damaged by the earthquake. collapsed during the earthquake; another woman, who suffered fractures and injuries in the earthquake, said as she was taken to the ambulance:
“We’re rocking in a cradle… I have two sons still in the rubble and I’m waiting for them.”
In other disaster areas such as Osmaniye, at least 16 buildings collapsed, and 34 buildings in Sanliurfa were damaged; in the face of severe disasters, Turkish Interior Minister Soylu said: “Our priority is to carry out search and rescue work. All members of the team are in a state of readiness.
In addition to Turkey, Syria is also severely affected; Syria has experienced more than 11 years of civil war, and the main affected areas are Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. Large swaths of the rebel-controlled area, home to about 4 million displaced refugees, have long been under siege and frequent airstrikes, and depend largely on Turkey for aid.
At present, Syrian official media reported that at least 237 people were known to have died in government-controlled areas and at least 120 people were killed in rebel-controlled areas. The White Helmets, an emergency rescue organization in the rebel-controlled area, pointed out that many local blocks have collapsed and hundreds of families are trapped in the rubble waiting to be rescued. Muheeb, a doctor serving in the rebel area Qaddour also told the Associated Press that he feared the quake may have killed hundreds of people in the area.
At present, the disaster area is still under search and rescue, and the number of casualties may continue to be revised and updated.
