Picture : Twitter/ ANI
The most powerful earthquake in nearly a century struck Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing more than 2,300 people. The 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, followed hours later by two more big ones, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region.
As per ANI report, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the 7.8 magnitude quakes as the country’s “biggest disaster” since 1939.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the 7.7 magnitude quake struck at 4.17 a.m. (0117GMT) and was centred in the Pazarcik district in the southern province of Kahramanmaras. The quake occurred at a depth of 7 kilometres (4.3 miles).
AFAD said in a statement that 78 aftershocks occurred following the earthquake.
Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis provinces are heavily affected by the quake, as per Anadolu Agency.
“The number of people rescued from the rubbles has reached 2,470. The number of buildings that collapsed is 2,818,” Erdogan said.
