More than 150 aftershocks after devastating quake, over 2,300 people dead

More than 150 aftershocks measuring higher than magnitude 3 on the Richter scale were recorded after last night’s tremor which has claimed the lives of thousands in neighbouring Turkey and Syria.

Associated Press report that the death toll in Turkey and Syria has now climbed to over 2,300 people.

At least 1,498 people were killed across 10 provinces of Turkey, with another  7,634 citizens injured, according to the country’s disaster management agency.

According to Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), 2,834 buildings were destroyed.

The earthquake was felt at a distance of almost 600 kilometres from its epicentre (in Turkey, Iraq, Georgia, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus). In Cyprus, it was felt throughout the island.

The first of the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 happened at 4:17 a.m (3:17 am Cyprus time) on Monday in the area of Gaziantep (near the border with Syria). Nine hours later, at 12:24 pm, a second earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck the central part of Turkey. 

These were followed by another earthquake, of 5.9 magnitude, also in the central part of Turkey.

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management ministry said that as of now there is no risk of a large tsunami hitting the eastern Mediterranean.

Describing the earthquake as the most severe disaster after the 1939 Erzincan earthquake the country experienced in the last century, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan noted that though there were minor damages in other provinces relatively close to the earthquake center, major destruction occurred in these 10 provinces.

The quake, one of the strongest to hit the region in more than 100 years, struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey's Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said.