7.8 Earthquake Hits Turkey, More Than 100 Dead

ANKARA: A major earthquake struck Turkey in the early hours of Monday when the people were fast asleep leading to the death of a large number of people and injuries to many more. Search and rescue operations are still underway in the area as people are still stuck in the rumble.

According to reports an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale hit the southeastern part of Turkey at around 4.17 AM local time. An aftershock measuring 6.7 hit the region around 15 minutes later adding to the damages. Although Turkey falls under a very high earthquake-prone area, this is being called the worst earthquake in a century.

Early reports put the number of deaths in the government-controlled parts of Syria at 110 and injuries at 516 in the Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus regions. The emergency services of Turkey put the initial number of deaths at 76 around the same time.

The tremors were felt across 8 countries of the region and emergency forces of several countries have been pressed into service. The United States is also working towards mobilising the US Aids volunteers in the affected regions. Kahramanmaras and neighbouring Gaziantep have been among the worst affected in the region.

Several videos have come to light depicting complete destruction of several buildings. People have been seen frantically moving aground in the streets with many injured among them while the emergency services are working hard to pull people out of the debris.

Fires broke out in several places across the region due to damages to supply systems. The power supply has also been interrupted because of the tremors. Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria's National Earthquake Centre, told pro-government radio that this was "historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

Naci Gorur, an earthquake expert with Turkey's Academy of Sciences has urged local officials to immediately check the region's dams for cracks to avert potentially catastrophic floodings as the rescue operations continue across the country.

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