Earthquake kills dozens in Turkey

[Александрина Кръстева]

A powerful earthquake shook southern Turkey before dawn on Monday, killing at least 50 people and trapping hundreds of others in collapsed apartment buildings in several provinces as rescuers raced to save residents, the government said, according to Bloomberg. The preliminary magnitude 7.4 quake struck at a depth of 5 km with an epicenter near the city of Gaziantep, according to Turkey’s Kandilli Observatory, based in Istanbul. The GFZ Helmholtz Center in Potsdam put the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.7. The earthquake was felt as far away as Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Iraq, Egypt and Israel. At least 50 people were confirmed dead in the provinces of Sanliurfa, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır and Malatya, where dozens of buildings collapsed, authorities said. Hundreds of people were injured. The earthquake also damaged some highways in Gaziantep province, but no power outages were reported. “The earthquake occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said at a televised press conference in Ankara. “We have activated the fourth level of alert, which implies international assistance.”

He said the earthquake caused damage and casualties in at least 10 provinces. They include Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, Malatya, Adiyaman, Diyarbakır and Adana, authorities said. Turkey hosts the world’s largest number of refugees, and most of the estimated 3.7 million Syrian refugees are concentrated in the areas affected by the earthquake. “The earthquake occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time,” Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said at a televised news conference in Ankara. “We have activated a fourth alert level, which implies international assistance.”

He said the earthquake caused damage and casualties in at least 10 provinces. They include Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Hatay, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, Malatya, Adiyaman, Diyarbakır and Adana, authorities said. Turkey hosts the world’s largest number of refugees, and most of the estimated 3.7 million Syrian refugees are concentrated in the areas affected by the earthquake. 42 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia as a result of the earthquake in neighboring Turkey, Reuters reported, citing Syrian state media.

[Красимир Ганчев]

A new earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale has hit Turkey.

It was followed by two more earthquakes with a magnitude above 5 on the scale.
A new earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck Turkey at 1:24 p.m. local time on Monday, the European Seismological Center reported. Its epicenter was 59 km northeast of the city of Kahramanmaras, at a depth of 10 km.

12 minutes later, another strong earthquake of 5.8 on the Richter scale was recorded – 61 km southwest of Malatya in the southeastern part of the country. At 1:51 p.m. local time, the European Seismological Center reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5.

[Красимир Ганчев]

MORE THAN A WEEK AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE: The death toll in Turkey and Syria exceeds 36,000.

The Syrian government is opening two additional crossing points.
More than seven days after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, rescuers continue their desperate efforts to find survivors under the rubble. However, hopes of finding people alive are dwindling. The victims in both countries are already close to 40 thousand.

The Syrian government is opening two additional checkpoints for aid to come in for those affected by the earthquake. The UN Secretary-General said this decision will have a significant impact on the amount of aid delivered and the speed with which it reaches the victims.

President Assad’s regime said the lack of aid for the victims was due to international sanctions against the country. But humanitarian organizations insist that the main obstacle is Assad’s refusal to allow convoys of food and clothing into territories he does not control.

Photo: EPA/BGNES
The Syrian government is opening two additional crossing points
More than seven days after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, rescuers continue their desperate efforts to find survivors under the rubble. However, hopes of finding people alive are dwindling. The victims in both countries are already close to 40 thousand.

The tragedy in Turkey and Syria IN PHOTOS

The Syrian government is opening two additional checkpoints for aid to come in for those affected by the earthquake. The UN Secretary-General said this decision will have a significant impact on the amount of aid delivered and the speed with which it reaches the victims.

President Assad’s regime said the lack of aid for the victims was due to international sanctions against the country. But humanitarian organizations insist that the main obstacle is Assad’s refusal to allow convoys of food and clothing into territories he does not control.

There is a group of 20 Bulgarian cave rescuers in the Turkish province of Hatay. They are sent by an NGO to help. The men said they had arrived because they were already removing more corpses than living people.

“The area is located about 50 km from Syria. It’s more of a refugee center here. There are a lot of police and gendarmerie controlling the situation,” said one of the rescuers.

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