In the early hours of February 6, a powerful earthquake of magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter’s Scale jolted the southern parts of Turkey. As per reports, the epicentre was 26 km East of Nurdagi in Turkey.
As per ANI, the earthquake occurred around 01:17:35 (UTC) at a depth of 17.9 km. According to USGS, the latitude and longitude of the earthquake were found to be 37.174N and 37.032E respectively. Nurdagi, where the quake was reported is a district and city of Gaziantep Province of Turkey.
Entire buildings collapsed in S. #Turkey the epicenter of 7.8 magnitude earthquake in last hour, that also sent shockwaves to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus. We don’t know death toll yet: pic.twitter.com/A7fomc3AXT
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) February 6, 2023
As per reports, hundreds of people are expected to have died in the massive quake. Reports emerging from the region say that a series of strong earthquakes hit repeatedly.
Shockwaves were felt in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Cyprus.
United States Geological Survey has shared that a later quake measured at 6.7 on the Richter Scale was registered an hour later in Central Turkey.
As daylight approached, videos from several regions of Turkey show apartment complexes flattened and buildings reduced to rubble. No estimate on the death toll has been made yet, but it is expected to be very high.
Mediterranean nations have issued a Tsunami alert following the earthquake in Turkey.
The government of Turkey has issued the highest level emergency and has requested the world for assistance.