China News Service, February 6th reported comprehensively that in the early hours of the 6th local time, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Turkey, and several aftershocks occurred since then. The strong earthquake has caused a large number of buildings to collapse and hundreds of people have been killed or injured.
CNN quoted Turkish officials as saying that the earthquake has killed at least 76 people in the country and injured 440 others.
In addition, foreign media reported that the earthquake also killed 42 people in neighboring Syria and injured more than 200 people.
Hundreds of people may be trapped under the rubble.
The death toll from the earthquake may continue to rise.
The earthquake was the strongest in the world so far this year.
On February 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey, causing buildings to collapse.
Level 7.8! World's strongest earthquake this year
According to the latest news from the website of the US Geological Survey, at around 4:00 a.m. local time on the 6th in Turkey, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred in the south of the country with a focal depth of 17.9 kilometers.
Eleven minutes later, another aftershock of magnitude 6.7 occurred in the country with a focal depth of 12.2 kilometers.
Eight minutes after the second earthquake, a third earthquake occurred with a magnitude of 5.6 and a focal depth of 10 kilometers.
According to the official microblog of China Earthquake Network Express, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey is the largest earthquake in the world this year.
It is understood that since the beginning of this year, there have been 13 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above in the world, including 9 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 to 6.9, 4 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 to 7.9, and 0 earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or above. The largest earthquake is this earthquake.
Hundreds of people were killed and injured! highest level alert
The number of casualties caused by the earthquake is increasing.
As of press time, CNN quoted Turkish officials as saying that the earthquake had killed at least 76 people in the country and injured 440 others.
The death toll could have been higher as many buildings were destroyed.
The quake was felt strongly in neighboring Syria.
Agence France-Presse quoted Syrian media as saying that the earthquake had killed 42 people in Syria and injured 200 others.
Deaths were reported in Aleppo, Hama and Latakia regions.
The epicenter of the earthquake is about 33 kilometers away from Gaziantep, Turkey's main city and provincial capital. The city has a population of more than one million and is one of Turkey's important industrial and manufacturing centers.
According to the Turkish emergency management department, six provinces in Turkey felt the earthquake in the early morning of the 6th, including Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakir, Malatya and Shanliurfa. Province.
A reporter living in Gaziantep, Turkey also told CNN that after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, there were as many as eight strong aftershocks in less than a minute, which caused the death of his family. Items fall to the ground.
Strong earthquake in Turkey causes buildings to collapse.
Image source: screenshot of BNO social media account
The earthquake caused the collapse of many buildings.
Many residents took refuge in the snow-covered streets.
Many people also gathered around the destroyed buildings looking for survivors.
Buildings also collapsed in neighboring Diyarbakir and Malatya provinces, citing Turkey's HaberTurk TV station.
The governor of Malatya Province said that the earthquake caused the collapse of 130 buildings, the remains of three people have been dragged out from under the rubble, and more than 100 people were injured.
The tremor was also felt in Lebanon and Syria.
Syrian state media said some buildings had collapsed in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama.
Buildings in Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus, Syria shook, and many people took to the streets in horror.
"The paintings fell off the walls of the houses," said Samer, a Damascus resident.
"I woke up with a start. Now we're all dressed and standing at the door."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on social media that search and rescue teams had been sent to areas affected by the earthquake.
He said the quake was felt across Turkey and wrote, "Hopefully we can get through this disaster together as soon as possible."
Image source: Screenshot of Erdogan’s social media account
The Chinese embassy in Turkey confirmed that no Chinese citizens were injured or injured in the earthquake in Turkey.
According to the Guardian, Turkey is located in one of the most active seismic belts in the world.
In 1999, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey, killing more than 17,000 people.
In 2020, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred in the Aegean Sea, killing more than 100 people and injuring more than 1,000.