After almost 84 years, a terrible earthquake has struck the Middle Eastern countries of Turkey and Syria. Yesterday morning, the first phase of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake started in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on the Syrian border. After 12 hours, Turkey was shaken by another earthquake. According to the latest reports, the duration of the first earthquake was 40 seconds. At least more than two and a half thousand buildings and structures collapsed instantly in the earthquake. The Turkish city was destroyed. Sleeping people were buried under the collapsed buildings. According to reports till evening, 2600 dead bodies have been recovered from the rubble. More than 8 thousand people were rescued in serious condition. Most of the casualties occurred in Turkey. President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed grief over the incident. Sources: BBC, Reuters, CNN, The Guardian, Al Jazeera. According to reports, The first earthquake occurred yesterday at 4:17 am local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on the border with Syria. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8 on the Richter scale. After almost 84 years, Turkey was shaken by such a strong earthquake. Later in the afternoon, another 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the same area. All in all, the situation is dire. Bad weather is hampering rescue operations. The weather forecast says that there is a risk of heavy rain in the earthquake affected areas of Turkey. And the temperature may drop to 3-4 degrees. Meanwhile, Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay said that at least 1,718 buildings collapsed in Turkey due to the 7.8-magnitude earthquake. He said, Many people are trapped in the rubble. Moreover, more than 900 buildings have collapsed in Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras provinces of Turkey. In the meantime, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held an urgent meeting with the cabinet members regarding the damage and the necessary measures. At least 900 people were killed in the quake in government-controlled areas of the country, according to Syrian state television. Another 1500 people were injured. These areas include Aleppo, Hama, Cities like Latakia and Tartus. In addition, at least 147 people were killed and more than 340 injured in the earthquake in rebel-held areas of Syria. Many families are still trapped under the rubble. So the number of casualties could be more. A second earthquake struck southeastern Turkey. The epicenter of this earthquake was near the city of Kharmanmaras. The latest earthquake was also felt in Damascus. However, details of the damage were not immediately available. According to the news, thousands of people are buried under the rubble. Rescuers continue to search through the rubble of the collapsed building. 45 countries, including Western military alliance NATO, European Union, have offered cooperation to Turkey.
Buildings collapsed in Turkey's Adana area and turned into rubble, crying with dead bodies -AFP
The death toll is increasing suddenly : More than 1,200 people died in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. On the other hand, thousands have died in Syria. The tremors of the earthquake lasting 40 seconds also reached Lebanon and Cyprus. This is the strongest earthquake in Turkey since 1999. According to reports, the bodies of the injured are coming out of the rubble. For this reason, it is assumed that this number can increase a lot. The number of casualties in both countries is increasing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the incident the biggest disaster in Turkey in the last 84 years. According to Erdogan, about 3,000 houses were destroyed in the earthquake in Turkey. Many people are still trapped under the rubble.
