According to reports, at least 76 people were killed and 440 were injured when a massive 7.4 earthquake devastated Turkey’s southern regions.
According to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck around 4:17 a.m. (0117 GMT) on Monday and was centered in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras Province.
The earthquake happened at a depth of 7 kilometers (4.3 miles). It was followed by quakes of magnitude 6.4 and 6.5 that impacted the southern Gaziantep province.
According to the governor of the Turkish province of Malatya, at least 23 persons have been confirmed deceased and 420 others have been wounded. The earthquake also destroyed 140 structures in the province.
Meanwhile, at least 15 people were killed and 30 injured in the Turkish province of Sanliurfa, while at least five people were killed in the province of Osmaniye.
At least 6 deaths and 79 injuries were reported in Diyarbakir province.
The initial quake was also felt in neighbouring Lebanon and Syria.
At least 42 deaths were reported in Syria, according to the country’s state news agency. There is no information yet on casualties in Lebanon.
AFAD ‘on alert
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to Twitter to send get well wishes to citizens affected by the first earthquake.
He added that AFAD and other units were “on alert”.
He noted that rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the province affected by the earthquake.
“Our ministries of interior and health, AFAD, provincial governors and all other institutions have quickly started their work.”
“We are also coordinating our work after the earthquake. We hope that together we will overcome this disaster as soon as possible and with the least damage, and we will continue our work”.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu also said that six aftershocks with a magnitude of more than 6.0 were recorded on Monday.
