In Turkey on Monday morning, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 was felt in the Gaziantep area in the southeast. It was reported that the earthquake was felt in the region. During the morning on this day, a strong earthquake shook a 17.9-kilometer area of Gaziantep at 4:17 a.m., the US Geological Service reports. Several Turkish disaster response teams have already arrived at the scene.
The 7.8 Richter scale earthquake has spread panic across the country. It was known that the second earthquake was also very strong. It happened 15 minutes after Sambit didn’t return, and the aftershock occurred within 15 minutes. According to the Richter scale, the magnitude of the second earthquake was 6.7, and five civilians have been reported dead so far. The number is expected to increase by leaps and bounds.
Local media sources report that many refugees live near the earthquake’s epicenter. This natural disaster overnight, along with extreme cold, has caused panic across Turkey, with many displaced people fearing that their roofs will be destroyed in the early hours of the morning because they live in tents for miles around the area.
A major part of Gaziantep’s economy is manufacturing and industrial. A large number of factories are located there. As a result of the earthquake, severe damage is expected in the Syrian border region. Besides Lebanon, Syria, and Cyprus, this strong earthquake also affected their neighboring countries. Death tolls have not yet been released by the Turkish government. Many people are expected to die. Multiple stories may collapse, causing major damage to the southeastern region.
It is no secret that Turkey is an earthquake-prone region. A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey in 1999, killing 17 thousand of people. Only 1000 of those killed lived in Istanbul. The Elazig earthquake happened in January 2020, killing 40 people. 114 people died during that time.
It was reported that more than 1,000 people were injured. Before this, experts had repeatedly warned of strong earthquakes, but the Turkish administration ignored them. The lack of safety measures has led to multiple high-rise buildings collapsing like houses of cards during repeated earthquakes. The collapse of several multi-story buildings happened again this time. The collapse has left many people afraid to be buried under them.
