Back-to-back earthquakes in the past 48 hours – over 5000 people have lost their lives and many people are injured in Turkey and Syria. Rescuers are striving to pull out survivors buried in debris after a destructive earthquake struck the region.
On Monday, early in the morning amid the extremely cold weather – a strongest and deadly earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit southern and central Turkey which hindered emergency efforts. This is one of the most powerful quakes ever recorded in Turkish and Syrian history.
As per United States Geological Survey (USGS) , the epicenter of the earthquake was 23 kilometers which is 14.2 miles east of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles)
The tremors were felt as far away as Cairo, which is centered north of the city Gaziantep about 90 kilometers (60 miles) from the Syrian border. The area near the quake’s epicenter between Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep is highly devastated. Multiple aftershocks shook the city on Tuesday.
According to the reports and disaster agencies, many buildings were flattened in cities across a vast border region.
In Turkey more than 2900 people have died and at least 15000 people are injured. Whereas in Syria the quake took the lives of over 1450 innocent people.
According to the sources, Governor Hulusi Sahin mentioned that at least 130 buildings tumbled down in Turkey’s Malatya province.
Turkey president has declared 3-months state of emergency in earthquake zone.
The World Health Organization’s director-general had mentioned in his tweet that the WTO has activated its network of emergency medical teams in two countries to assist those affected by the earthquake.
Along with the European Union, dozens other nations have pledged aid. In coordination with Turkey’s government and Indian embassy in Ankara, India has sent a National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team, first batch of relief materials and trained canines to quake devastated regions in Turkey.
Today at the Embassy of Turkey in Delhi, the Turkish flag flew at half-mast to mourn the deaths of over 5000 people in the country and neighbouring Syria.
