A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey and neighboring Syria today, Monday February 6, 2023, killing at least 500 people in both countries.
At least 284 people have been killed in Turkey across seven different provinces, and at least 237 others have lost their lives in Syria.
According to the latest figures released by the Turkish Vice-President, Fuat Oktay, the toll, still provisional, is 284 dead and 2,320 injured. Also specifying that more than a thousand buildings have completely collapsed, which raises fears of even heavier balance sheets.
The death toll in government-controlled areas in Syria is 237, with at least 639 injured, according to the Syrian health ministry. Dozens of people have been killed in rebel areas in the north of the country and hundreds more are injured or still under rubble, rescuers said. In a press release, the White Helmets, the rescuers engaged in the rebel areas, declared these regions “disaster” and called on international humanitarian organizations to “intervene quickly” to help the local population.
Tremors felt even in Lebanon and Cyprus
According to the American seismological institute USGS, the earthquake took place at 4 hours and 17 minutes (2 hours and 17 minutes, Algiers time), at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers. According to AFAD, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of 7 kilometers. The epicenter is in the district of Pazarcik, in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, about 60 kilometers from the Syrian border. Fifty aftershocks were recorded in Turkey, according to AFAD. The tremors, felt across southeastern Turkey, were also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus.
