A devastating earthquake occurred in Turkey: what is known

The news that literally shook the whole world this morning. A series of powerful tremors swept through the Middle East. Turkey suffered the most, dozens of buildings were destroyed there, under the rubble of which people remain. The death toll by this minute has already exceeded a hundred. The correspondent got all the details “Izvestia” Kirill Polyakov.

The tremors woke up the inhabitants of ten provinces of Turkey. Dishes were broken in the houses, plaster was crumbling.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred near the Syrian-Turkish border in the early morning, at the beginning of the fifth morning. Most of the residents at this time were in their homes. In a matter of seconds, they were under the rubble.

The epicenter was fixed at a depth of ten kilometers. It was located 30 kilometers from Gaziantep and 110 kilometers from the Syrian city of Aleppo. The shocks were also felt in neighboring countries – Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.

There were shots from the Turkish city of Kahramanmarash after the earthquake. The city was seriously damaged. The main blow fell on this settlement.

“Search and rescue teams were rushed to the areas affected by the earthquake. The ministries of interior and health, the emergency management, provincial governors and all other departments quickly got to work,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

After the earthquake, in Kahramanmarash, strong fires broke out in several areas at once due to damage to gas pipelines.

Many managed to jump out of the houses on the streets. Now there is no exact information about the number of collapsed houses, and even more so about the victims. High-rise buildings were formed from tremors. So, eyewitnesses managed to film how in a matter of seconds the nine-story building turned into a pile of concrete.

Syrian emergency services are also clearing debris in Aleppo and Idlib. A large number of buildings collapsed, there are casualties.

After the first earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4, seismologists registered 6 more powerful aftershocks. Cargo planes with rescue equipment are now preparing to fly to the most affected regions. The Ministry of the Interior announced the introduction of the highest level of alert.

“Rescue crews were sent to the southeast of Turkey from other regions of the republic to extract people from the rubble,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.

However, rescuers cannot start this work yet. Seismologists warn of the threat of aftershocks.

Recall, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred on the night of February 6 in the province of Kahramanmaras in southeast Turkey.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the epicenter of the tremors was located 26 kilometers from the city of Gaziantep. The hearth lay at a depth of 10 kilometers. Also, tremors were felt in Diyarbakir, Adana, Kayseri and Hatay. Destruction occurred in several regions of Syria. The earthquake was also felt by residents of Beirut in Lebanon and Cyprus.

After the first earthquake, at least 22 powerful aftershocks followed, the authorities declared the highest level of alert.

It is worth noting that this is an extremely powerful earthquake. The most powerful earthquake on record was the Great Chile earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1, which occurred in May 1960.