Devastating Turkey, Syria earthquake felt by residents in Iraq
People search through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Azmarin, northwestern Syria, on February 6. Photo: AP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – A devastating earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Turkey, early on Monday, near the city of Gaziantep, and areas in northern Syria, and was felt by residents in Iraq and Lebanon.
A massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale hits 26 kilometers east of Nurdagi city of Gaziantep province in south-central Turkey on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
It was reported that residents in Erbil, Duhok and northern Baghdad all felt the massive earthquakes and aftershocks.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) mentioned that Turkey’s devastating earthquake was followed by another earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers after nearly 15 minutes, with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale.
According to CNN, the strongest aftershock, measuring 6.7 in magnitude, struck around 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the original earthquake’s epicenter about 11 minutes later.
Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds were injured in Turkey and Syria, officials from both countries mentioned.
Several provinces in southern Turkey also reported loss of lives.
Hundreds of buildings were destroyed in southern Turkey and northern Syria, where the earthquake shook cities and towns.
Eyewitnesses mentioned that the earthquake was felt by people in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Syrian media outlets indicated that the residents of Damascus and Latakia in Syria felt strong earth tremors.
People posted on social media footage of the destruction, including collapsed buildings and people trapped under the rubble in the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Latakia, and the cities of northern Syria, following the massive earthquake.
The number of casualties is expected to rise.