Roj Bash Kurdistan

7.8-magnitude quake kills hundreds

The earthquake was one of the most powerful to strike the region in at least a century, impacting southeastern Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and occupied Palestine

On Monday, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, killing more than 300, leveling houses while many were still sleeping, and spreading shocks as far away as the island of Cyprus.

The death toll could be in the thousands

Images on television showed stunned citizens in Turkey standing in the snow in their pajamas, watching rescuers rummage through the debris of destroyed homes.

Meanwhile unknown numbers were killed and thousands injured across Syria as buildings fell following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that had its epicenter in southeastern Turkey, as per the Syrian health ministry.

Since the earthquake struck Syria at dawn, rescuers have been rushing to look for survivors among the rubble of collapsed houses.

Terrified residents ran out of their homes after the ground shook, as per media reports.

Earlier, SANA reported earlier that the earthquake was felt from the western coast of Latakia to Damascus.

"This earthquake is the strongest since the National Earthquake Centre was founded in 1995," Raed Ahmed, who heads the center, said as quoted by SANA.

People were killed "in the regions of Azaz and al-Bab," a source at a local hospital said as quoted by AFP, adding that the number is likely to rise as search and rescue operations are underway.

The US Geological Survey reported a 7.8-magnitude earthquake near Gaziantep in southern Turkey on Monday at 04:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of around 17.9 kilometers (11 miles).

It is worth noting that the earthquake reached Lebanon, occupied Palestine, and Cyprus as well

Second large earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria less than 12 hours after first

Turkey reports that a second massive earthquake in less than 12 hours has hit the southeast of the country. State media in Syria have also said that Damascus was affected by the latest large quake, although details remain scant.

In the wake of the 7.8 magnitude quake, another quake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale has also shaken Cyprus. The aftershock, whose epicentre was 75km southeast of Famagusta, hit at 11.23 am local time, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The new quake follows what the eastern Mediterranean island’s geological survey department described as a series of “small tsunamis” off the Famagusta coast triggered by Monday’s massive quake earlier. Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou, who directs the geological survey department, said the effect of the tsunamis could have been catastrophic had an underwater landslide been provoked.

Speaking to the island’s public broadcaster, CYBC, Hadjigeorgiou said the geological survey department was monitoring the situation closely. He said the first quake struck the Turkish-Syrian Gaziantep border area at 3:17 am followed by a second quake at 3.28 am measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale. Six aftershocks of over 5 on the Richter scale followed.

Monday’s devastating quake came hours after a 3.6 earthquake shook Cyprus on Sunday. That quake’s epicentre was located 25km north east of the coast of Paralimni.

In breakaway Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus a crisis centre has been set up with the aim of assisting mainland Turkish authorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... atest-news

EU has mobilised more than 10 search and rescue teams to assist Turkey

More than 10 search and rescue teams from the EU have been mobilised in the wake of the major earthquake that has hit Turkey, a spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters on Monday.

“Urban Search and Rescue teams have been quickly mobilised from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania to support the first responders on the ground,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Italy, Spain and Slovakia have offered their rescue teams to Turkey as well.

Reuters reports the EU said it was also ready to support those affected in Syria, but said it had not yet received a request from the country to activate the EU’s civil protection mechanism, which coordinates assistance from EU and other European countries.

Click Images to Enlarge:


More than 1,300 people were killed when an earthquake struck central Turkey and north-west Syria, in one of the most powerful quakes in the region in at least a century, while a second powerful shake hours later threatened to overwhelm rescue efforts.

Thousands more were injured as the quake wiped out entire sections of major cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was followed by a second, 7.7 quake in the middle of the day on Monday, as rescuers in both countries were still attempting to search for survivors.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said 912 people were killed, 5,383 injured, and 2,818 buildings had collapsed.

In Syria, already wrecked by more than 11 years of civil war, the health ministry said more than 326 people had been killed and 1,042 injured. In the Syrian rebel-held north-west, rescuers said 147 people had died.

Combined death toll from Turkey and Syria quakes passes 1,400

The combined death toll from the two large earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday has reached at least 1,400 people.

Official figures from Turkey say 912 people were killed there, 5,383 were injured, and 2,818 buildings had collapsed. Syria’s health ministry said that more than 326 people had been killed and 1,042 injured.

In addition to those figures, rescue services in the north-west of Syria in areas not controlled by the government put their death toll at 221, giving a total of 1,459 confirmed dead.

Earlier today

7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Kahramanmaras province at 01:17 GMT.

Sitting on major fault lines
Turkey prone to powerful quakes:

According to an expert, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey Monday had the same magnitude as one that killed about 30,000 people in December 1939

November 2022: In November last year, northwestern Turkey was hit by an earthquake of 5.9 magnitude. The quake was centered in the town of Golkaya, in Duzce province, some 200 kilometers east of Istanbul, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

April 2022: In April last year, the country witnessed another earthquake of 5.2 magnitude. The quake struck the town of Puturge in Malatya province. The tremor was recorded at a depth of 6.7 kilometres.

October 2020: A strong earthquake struck in October 2020 in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency had then said the earthquake was centered in the Aegean at a depth of 16.5 kilometers and registered at a 6.6 magnitude.

January 2020: A powerful quake struck eastern Turkey in January 2020. The 6.8 magnitude quake shook Elazig province, about 550 km east of the capital Ankara, and was followed by more than 270 aftershocks, 12 of which were over 4 magnitudes.

June 2017: A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean coast of western Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos. According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake was in the Aegean sea 11 kilometres south of Plomari, a village on the southern coast of Lesbos.

2017 alone saw several earthquakes of up to 5.5 magnitudes that hit Turkey’s western Aegean coast.

October 2011: A 7.2 magnitude quake hit eastern Turkey in October 2011, killing several and leaving thousands homeless.

March 2010: An earthquake with 6.0 magnitude hit eastern Turkey in March 2010. The earthquake was centred near the village of Basyurt and followed by more than 50 aftershocks. The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular.

August 1999: In August 1999, as many as 17,000 people were killed by a powerful temblor that devastated nearby Kocaeli province and other parts of northwest Turkey. Officials said around 80 per cent of the buildings in the area were rebuilt or fortified following the 1999 earthquakes, which helped minimize damage.

The same year, around 800 people were killed in the powerful earthquake that hit Duzce in November.

According to a report by The New York Times, Stephen Hicks, a research fellow in seismology at Imperial College London, wrote on Twitter that at 7.8 magnitude, Monday’s quake had the same magnitude as one that killed about 30,000 people in December 1939 in northeast Turkey.

https://indianexpress.com/article/world ... 8-8426714/

Click Map to Enlarge:


Detailed Description

Generalized plate boundaries from This Dynamic Planet (USGS, 2006).

Red lines are spreading boundaries, where new crust is generated as plates move away from one another;

Black lines are transform faults where plates slide past one another. Black lines with sawteeth are convergent boundaries, where one plate dives beneath another in direction of sawteeth.

Hatched red lines are broad belts of deformation. Red dots are hotspots, where material from the Earth’s mantle wells up into the crust.

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/plate ... iddle-east

Today: 6.0 magnitude earthquake near Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Today: 7.5 magnitude earthquake near Celeyke, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Today: 6.7 magnitude earthquake near Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Today: 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Nurdağı, Gaziantep, Turkey

Recent Updates:

50 minutes ago 4.8 magnitude, 10 km depth
Nurhak, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

1 hour ago 6.0 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

1 hour ago 4.9 magnitude, 17 km depth
Çağlayancerit, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

1 hour ago 5.2 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

2 hours ago 5.0 magnitude, 10 km depth
Pazarcık, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

2 hours ago 5.7 magnitude, 12 km depth
Doğanşehir, Malatya, Turkey

2 hours ago 5.8 magnitude, 10 km depth
Doğanşehir, Malatya, Turkey

2 hours ago 7.5 magnitude, 10 km depth
Celeyke, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

3 hours ago 4.3 magnitude, 10 km depth
Nurdağı, Gaziantep, Turkey

3 hours ago 4.6 magnitude, 10 km depth
Hasanbeyli, Osmaniye, Turkey

39 earthquakes in the past 24 hours

Work of rescuers extremely dangerous due to dozens of aftershocks

People living in the areas concerned should remain well away from buildings unless involve in rescue work

Medical supplies, tents, food, water, bedding URGENTLY needed

Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, reports on further international aid developments following Monday’s earthquakes:

The UK said it was sending 76 UK search & rescue specialists, four search dogs and rescue equipment to arrive on Monday evening. The UK is also sending an emergency medical team to assess the situation on the ground. Ministers added they were in contact with the UN on emergency humanitarian support to those affected in Syria.

Turkey’s neighbour Greece and other countries in the region have offered to send immediate assistance to help with the rescue effort. “Greece is mobilizing its resources and will assist immediately,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in a tweet.

Egypt’s foreign ministry, in a statement early Monday, offered help to both Turkey and Syria. Residents in Cairo felt tremors from the quake.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France stood ready to provide emergency aid: “Our thoughts are with the bereaved families,” Macron tweeted.

In Germany, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) is preparing to deliver emergency generators, tents and blankets. Emergency shelters and water treatment systems could also be provided, the German interior minister Nancy Faeser said.

Sir Stephen O’Brien, the former UN humanitarian coordinator, said “Turkey has a sophisticated and experienced team of earthquake experts. That will not be the case in Syria, far from it”. But he added “in Syria it is a conflict zone and we have not got clarity as to about whether the UN through OCHA has consent to go into the country”.

He said in war torn Idlib, where the White Helmets is active, there is little help. “I very much hope there will be no objections to offer help. This is too big for any one country to handle. We have get good command and control on the ground to save lives.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... op-of-blog

43 minutes ago 4.9 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

51 minutes ago 5.0 magnitude, 17 km depth
Nurhak, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

1 hour ago 4.7 magnitude, 10 km depth
Çelikhan, Adıyaman, Turkey

1 hour ago 4.9 magnitude, 13 km depth
Çelikhan, Adıyaman, Turkey

1 hour ago 4.8 magnitude, 10 km depth
Nurhak, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

1 hour ago 6.0 magnitude, 10 km depth
Göksun, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

12min ago
37.93 N 37.67 E 10 3.8 CENTRAL TURKEY
V 2023-02-06 14:51:14.5
15min ago
38.13 N 38.48 E 4 4.4 EASTERN TURKEY
2023-02-06 14:45:12.4
21min ago
38.59 N 40.30 E 8 3.2 EASTERN TURKEY
VII 2023-02-06 14:41:57.3
24min ago
38.10 N 37.80 E 10 4.2 CENTRAL TURKEY
F 2023-02-06 14:33:07.4
33min ago
38.05 N 37.89 E 6 3.8 CENTRAL TURKEY
F 2023-02-06 14:30:06.1
36min ago
38.16 N 36.86 E 80 4.5 CENTRAL TURKEY
14 V 2023-02-06 14:27:51.2
38min ago
37.05 N 36.25 E 10 4.8 CENTRAL TURKEY
VI 2023-02-06 14:20:51.9
45min ago
38.24 N 38.16 E 3 4.1 EASTERN TURKEY
8 IV 2023-02-06 14:19:38.5
46min ago
33.89 N 35.74 E 17 3.3 LEBANON - SYRIA REGION
2023-02-06 14:18:50.0

56min ago
38.10 N 37.02 E 10 4.6 CENTRAL TURKEY
2023-02-06 14:05:02.2

1hr 01min ago
38.03 N 36.38 E 5 4.3 CENTRAL TURKEY
F 2023-02-06 14:03:08.2
1hr 03min ago
38.15 N 37.73 E 9 3.8 CENTRAL TURKEY
2023-02-06 14:02:03.1
1hr 04min ago
38.30 N 37.14 E 5 3.3 CENTRAL TURKEY
1 F 2023-02-06 13:59:53.3
1hr 06min ago
37.74 N 37.55 E 22 3.5 CENTRAL TURKEY
4 VI 2023-02-06 13:58:51.4
1hr 07min ago
38.10 N 36.50 E 5 4.0 CENTRAL TURKEY
F 2023-02-06 13:52:05.1
1hr 14min ago
38.33 N 38.18 E 7 3.9 EASTERN TURKEY
2023-02-06 13:51:45.2

1hr 21min ago
37.92 N 37.60 E 10 5.0 CENTRAL TURKEY
15 IV 2023-02-06 13:39:25.6
1hr 26min ago
37.60 N 36.96 E 10 5.1 CENTRAL TURKEY
2023-02-06 13:35:27.0
1
1hr 36min ago
39.46 N 25.86 E 2 2.3 AEGEAN SEA
2023-02-06 13:24:33.4
1hr 41min ago
35.96 N 25.59 E 13 3.2 CRETE, GREECE
2023-02-06 13:18:49.0

1hr 48min ago
38.05 N 36.52 E 5 4.9 CENTRAL TURKEY
1 F 2023-02-06 13:16:28.7
1hr 49min ago
38.00 N 36.75 E 14 3.7 CENTRAL TURKEY

28 minutes ago 5.3 magnitude, 10 km depth
Gölbaşı, Adıyaman, Turkey

1 hour ago 5.0 magnitude, 17 km depth
Nurhak, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

These sizable aftershocks are due to continue for some time

Structures damaged in original earthquakes are at risk of collapse due to aftershocks and MUST be avoided