At approximately 2024 EST, reports began to emerge of a massive earthquake near Gaziantep Turkey.
#Earthquake (#deprem) confirmed by seismic data.?Preliminary info: M7.7 || 26 km NW of #Gaziantep (#Turkey) || 5 min ago (local time 04:17:35). Follow the thread for the updates? pic.twitter.com/sAWoNRV8tH
— EMSC (@LastQuake) February 6, 2023
The quake’s epicenter was reported at 26km Northwest of Gaziantep, Turkey’s major city near the Syrian border. By 2100 EST, hundreds of reports flooded in from civilians, especially in Aleppo, Syria where more than thirty four structures collapsed. At least five have been confirmed killed with an unknown number trapped and buried. Tremors were felt as far as Beirut, Lebanon.
Bab’da meydana gelen depremde y?k?lan bir evin enkaz?ndan bir çocuk sa? olarak kurtar?ld?. pic.twitter.com/GgSxOk1WAY
— Hüseyin Bozan (@huseyinbozan) February 6, 2023
Dozens of deaths were also reported throughout Turkey especially in Maras, Antep, Osmaniye, Malatya, and Adiyaman. Turkish Interior Minister Soylu and President Erdogan made several social media posts urging civilians to stay off the streets and allow emergency services to deploy throughout the country.
Depremden etkilenen bölgelere arama kurtarma ekiplerimiz ivedilikle sevk edilmi?tir. ?çi?leri ve Sa?l?k Bakanl???m?z, AFAD, Valiliklerimiz ve di?er tüm kurumlar?m?z çal??malar?na h?zla ba?lam??t?r.
— Recep Tayyip Erdo?an (@RTErdogan) February 6, 2023
#SONDAKIKA
?çi?leri Bakan? Soylu:
??TSK, Jandarma, Emniyet, AFAD alarm durumunda. Farkl? ?ehirlerden bölgelere ekipler gönderiyoruz.
??Trafik ?u an ciddi sorun. Vatanda?lar trafikte hareket halinde olmas?n. Cep telefonlar?n? mecbur olmayanlar lütfen kullanmas?n.#Deprem— EHA MEDYA (@eha_medya) February 6, 2023
As of 2217 EST, Turkish authorities have called for international aid for Southern Turkey as the casualty list grows to at least fifty. At least 53 structures have collapsed in Osmaniye and Sanliurfa alone. The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has declared the highest level of emergency in the country. NATO forces may be sent to aid Turkish authorities.
?#SONDAK?KA | Türkiye, ya?anan depremle ilgili resmi olarak uluslararas? yard?m ça?r?s?nda bulundu.
— ibrahim Haskolo?lu (@haskologlu) February 6, 2023
In 2011, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed more than 600 people in Van. Turkish emergency authorities fear the death toll will be similar after so many structure collapsed. Turkey has several major fault lines running through the country that produce at least one 7.5 magnitude quake a year.
