Hundreds of people are dead and several hundred more injured after a huge earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border
Statements from officials in Turkey and Syria put the death toll at more than 500, but that is likely to rise
Rescuers are racing to save people trapped beneath the rubble after hundreds of buildings collapsed in both countries
Turkey declares state of emergency in affected provinces and urges people not to use mobile phones to allow rescuers to co-ordinate
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday and dozens of aftershocks have been felt in the hours since
Millions of people across Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel felt the earthquake – the epicentre was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep
Situated on or near several fault lines, Turkey is one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.
Most of the country is located on the Anatolian tectonic plate, which sits between two major plates – the Eurasian and African – and another minor one, the Arabian. As the two large plates shift, Turkey is essentially squeezed, experts say.
That means quakes and tremors are a fairly common experience. The country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) recorded over 22,000 in 2022.
And many are deadly – the worst on record a 7.6 magnitude earthquake which struck İzmit in 1999, killing more than 17,000 people.
Source: BBC
