Turkey declares state of emergency and calls for international aid

Many buildings have collapsed in different cities of Turkey due to the terrible earthquake of magnitude 7.8. Members of the country's government disaster management department, AFAD, and the police have started efforts to rescue the victims trapped under those buildings.

In addition to issuing a state of emergency, the country's government has also issued a 'level 4' signal calling for international assistance.

A powerful earthquake has struck Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, bordering Syria. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.8 on the Richter scale. It was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey in over 100 years.

Number of injured and killed

• At least 76 people have died and more than 440 injured in Turkey, according to the country's disaster management agency. In neighboring Syria, at least 99 people died and nearly 200 were injured.
  According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck at a depth of 17.9 kilometers near the city of Gaziantep in Turkey at 4:17 a.m. local time on Monday. The epicenter was 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi in Gaziantep province.

According to a statement by the United States Geological Survey, USGS, two consecutive earthquakes occurred in Turkey. The first occurred at 4:17 a.m. and had a magnitude of 7.8; The second one happened 15 minutes later. The magnitude was 6.7. Both times the tremors lasted a minute or more.

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The statement also said that the origin of the two earthquakes was at a depth of 17.9 kilometers near the city of Gaziantep in the southern province of Kharmanmaras. In addition to Turkey, tremors were felt in Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus, AFP reported.

Turkey

• Officials of Turkey's government disaster management agency AFAD said that in addition to Kharmanmaras, the country's provinces of Malatya, Sanil, Diyarbakir and Osmania have suffered extensive damage and loss of life.
  "I have never seen such a big earthquake in my 40 years of life," Gaziantep resident Erdem told Reuters.
  Reports from Turkey's TRT and Haberturk television channels showed several video footages of rescue operations at the collapsed building.

Then in January 2020, 40 people were killed in a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in the eastern city of Elazig, Turkey. Another magnitude 7 earthquake struck the Aegean coast in October of the same year. The death toll in that disaster reached 114 people.