Turkey-Syria earthquake update: Worst-hit areas and cities; Turkey hit by two new earthquakes today

Turkey-Syria earthquake:Turkey and Syria were hit by two massive earthquakes on Monday, 6 February. More than 4000 people have been found dead yet and this number is expected to rise as search and rescue operations are still going on. The first earthquake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, which was one of the most powerful quakes in the region in at least a century. The tremors of the second earthquake were felt hours later.

The first earthquake was of 7.8 magnitude, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning. The second quake was felt at 7.7 magnitude in the middle of the day on Monday, as rescuers in both countries were still attempting to search for survivors. The images coming out of both countries show panicked people sheltering in the street as building around them quaked during the aftershock in the town of Kahramanmaras, north of Gaziantep.

Horrors of these massive earthquakes were felt as far as Lebanon, Greece, Israel and the island of Cyprus. In southern Turkey, 150 miles from the border with Syria and 50 miles from the epicentre of the earthquake in Kahramanmaras people felt aftershocks hours later.

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Turkey-Syria earthquake: Cities and areas most affected by the earthquakes

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said that at least 5,600 structures have crumbled till now due to Monday’s disastrous earthquakes. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said search and rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected areas. “We do not know how high the number of dead and injured will go. Our hope is to get through this disaster with the least loss”, he said in a speech.

He also added that this is the biggest disaster that Turkey has experienced in the last century after the 1939 Ezrincan earthquake. Apart from the epicentre, many parts of Turkey and Syria were heavily damaged due to these quakes:

1. Kahramanmaras, Turkey: The second 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Kahramanmaraş province in central Turkey following the first deadly earthquake that killed at least 1,000 people and wounded over 7,000, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Monday.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the earthquake that hit 10 Turkish provinces and northern Syria occurred at a depth of 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş at 4:17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT).

2. Aleppo, Syria: Syria’s war-torn city of Aleppo is among the areas to have borne out the brunt of a deadly earthquake. More than 1400 people have been reported dead so far in northern Syria following the quake. Even before the earthquake, the situation was grim in the city, with freezing weather, crumbling infrastructure and a cholera outbreak causing misery to many.

Now people in Aleppo, have nowhere to go, either because their homes have been destroyed or because they are afraid of further quakes.

3. Gaziantep, Turkey: A 2200-year-old Gaziantep Castle was destroyed after two massive earthquakes that hit Turkey. The historic castle located atop a hill in the city was jolted on Monday by quakes. This city was once a site of refuge for Syrian migrants, which is now destroyed to rubble.

Gaziantep, one of southern Turkey’s major cities, has a population of almost two million people, and between one-quarter and one-third of them are Syrian refugees.

4. Diyarbakir, Turkey: The southern-eastern city of Turkey was hit by a huge aftershock of the massive earthquake that turned its apartment blocks into mounds of rubble and piles of shattered masonry. Gaziantep, one of southern Turkey’s major cities, has a population of almost two million people, and between one-quarter and one-third of them are Syrian refugees.

Two fresh earthquakes of 5.6 and 5.7 magnitude hit Turkey on Tuesday, 7 February, a day after mass destruction on Monday. The European Union has mobilised search and rescue teams to help Turkey, while bloc’s Copernicus system has been activated to provide emergency mapping services.