Turkey-Syria earthquake: Death toll above 9,500; Gaziantep, Hatay and parts of Syria’s Azaz turned to rubble
when and where
The US Geological Survey said the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of about 18 kilometers (11 miles) near Gaziantep, the Turkish city that is home to about two million people.
This was followed by a smaller 7.5 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks.
The earthquake devastated entire parts of major cities in Turkey and war-torn Syria.
The region also plays host to millions of people who have fled the civil war and other conflicts in Syria.
number of casualties
More than 9,500 people have been killed and thousands more injured, officials and medical sources have said, as efforts continue to rescue those still trapped under the rubble.
Syrian state media and rescue teams said on Wednesday that 2,547 people had been killed in the earthquake, while Turkey reported its latest toll at 6,957, bringing the confirmed tally to 9,504 in both Turkey and Syria.
Initial rescue efforts were hampered by a winter storm that covered major roads in ice and snow and disabled three major airports in the region, complicating the delivery of vital aid.
Destruction
Some heavy destruction occurred between Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, near the epicenter of the earthquake, with entire city blocks lying in ruins.
Turkey said about 3,000 buildings had collapsed in seven different provinces, including public hospitals.
A famous 13th-century mosque partially collapsed in Malatya province, as did a 14-storey building with 28 apartments housing 92 people.
Social media posts showed a 2,200-year-old hilltop palace built by Roman legions in Gaziantep lying in ruins, its walls partially reduced to rubble.
In Syria, the health ministry reported damage in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility.
United Nations cultural organization UNESCO has warned that it has two sites World Heritage List, Syria’s Old City of Aleppo and the fortress in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir had sustained damage and many others could be hit.
It has been noted that the earthquake occurred in one of the longest continuously inhabited regions on the planet, within the so-called Fertile Crescent, which has seen the emergence of various civilizations, from the Hittites to the Ottomans.
Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo often collapsed due to poor infrastructure and many were dilapidated after more than a decade of war.
International aid
Condolences and offers of aid have flooded in, including from the European Union, the United Nations, NATO, Washington, China and Russia.
Despite political tensions, both Greece and Sweden have also pledged their support to Turkey.
President Joe Biden promised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States would send “any and all” aid needed.
But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that while he would work with partners to provide aid in Syria, it would not work with the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is subject to Western sanctions over alleged humanitarian abuses. . 12 years of civil war.
The World Health Organization said that 23 million people could be affected by the earthquake and promised long-term assistance.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)