Two devastating earthquakes that shake Turkey and Syria leave more than 2,000 people dead



More than 2,400 people were killed in southern Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday as a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the area, and dozens more were still buried in the wreckage.


Residents helped rescuers search for survivors in the frigid weather, and it was anticipated that the death toll would grow as the extent of the damage caused by the violent pre-dawn quake became evident.


People were startled out of their beds by the earthquake, which also rattled buildings around the Middle East and was felt as far away as Egypt and Israel. A few hours later, a quake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck the same region, increasing the possibility of a fresh humanitarian crisis in an area that had been destroyed by years of war.


According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, there have been at least 1,541 fatalities and 9,733 injuries nationwide.


Hundreds more people died in houses that had previously been destroyed or made weaker by bombardment in Syria, where nearly 12 years of civil conflict had caused about 4 million people to flee their homes.

The country's final surviving rebel-controlled region is located in the northwest of Syria, where the earthquake occurred. Millions of refugees from the violence now reside in Turkey.


According to the nation's health ministry, at least 461 people have died and 1,326 have been injured in areas under government control. Members of the White Helmets, an opposition emergency group, reported that the earthquake had left at least 450 people dead and 1,000 more injured in areas controlled by the opposition.


With concerns that it could yet increase significantly, this brings the total number of fatalities across the two borders to at least 2,452.


According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the first earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time and was centered about 20 miles from Gaziantep, Turkey, a significant city and province capital (8:17 p.m. ET Sunday).


It was 11 miles underground, and ten minutes later, a powerful aftershock measuring 6.7 magnitude shook the earth. A total of 20 aftershocks occurred a few hours later.


Then, at 1:24 p.m. local time (5:24 a.m. ET), a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of only about 6 miles about 100 miles north of Gaziantep, according to the USGS. Earthquakes that are shallow inflict more harm.

Buildings in Turkey were destroyed by the earthquake, including portions of the city's most well-known landmark and historical icon, the Gaziantep castle.


Parts of the historic castle, which is perched atop a 6,000-year-old hill of ruins, were seen in local and social media footage toppling down the hillside and ending up strewn across the neighboring roads.


The earthquake and its aftershocks, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, caused the collapse of thousands of buildings, making it the greatest tragedy to hit the nation since 1939.


Brahim Furkan Aydin, 24, told NBC News, "We were sleeping, then we passed out on the ground, and when it stopped, we exited the building." He landed in Gaziantep on Saturday and was traveling with his mother from Istanbul.

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