Turkey and Syria earthquake, more than 1,300 dead and thousands of collapsed buildings

So far, victims number in the thousands. The extremely violent earthquake that hit southern Turkey and neighboring regions like Syria overnight is having catastrophic effects. The earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale was recorded in the southeastern region of Anatolia. The death toll is getting worse by the hour, which currently stands at over 1,300. Thousands injured. ”It was the strongest earthquake since 1939,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said speaking at a government meeting. At least “912 of our citizens lost their lives and 5,385 people were injured,” Erdogan said again, adding that so far “2,470 people have been pulled out of the rubble” and at least “2,818 buildings have collapsed” in Turkey.

The 912 victims mentioned by the Turkish president are added to those registered in Syria, where there are 326 victims in areas controlled by the government and 150 in those controlled by the opposition. Gaziantep – formerly called Antep – is the city in Turkey that has recorded the highest number of victims: 80. Southeast Anatolia of Turkey, protecting the city born from the ashes of ancient Antiochia ad Taurum. The monument, a UNESCO heritage site, was swept away in a few moments.

Ankara’s disaster and emergency management office, under the Ministry of the Interior, announced that the earthquake was recorded at 4:17 am local, 2:17 am in Italy, and was registered 23 kilometers east of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep province. More than 40 aftershocks were recorded in the hours after the first one, the disaster and emergency management agency of Ankara’s Ministry of Interior said. A new earthquake of magnitude 7.5 was recorded in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, in the south of the country, at 11:24 am Italian time. This was reported by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv).