Turkey Earthquake: Live updates on 7.8 earthquake

AZMARIN, Syria (AP) – A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake jolted large areas of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1,500 people. Hundreds are believed to be still trapped under the rubble, and the death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers sift through piles of debris in cities and towns across the region.

On both sides of the border, residents were roused from their sleep by the pre-dawn earthquake and rushed outside on a cold, rainy and snowy night. Buildings were reduced to piles of flat floors, and major aftershocks continued to shake the area.

Rescue workers and residents in several cities searched for survivors, working through tangles of metal and concrete. A hospital in Turkey has collapsed, and patients including newborns have been evacuated from facilities in Syria.

In the Turkish city of Adana, a resident said that three buildings near his house collapsed. “I don’t have the strength anymore,” said one of the residents, journalism student Mohamed Fatih Yavous. One survivor could be heard calling out from the rubble as rescue workers tried to reach him.

“Because efforts to remove rubble are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured is,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “We hope to leave these disastrous days behind in unity and solidarity as a country and a nation.”

The earthquake, which had its epicenter north of Gaziantep, the capital of the Turkish region, was felt by residents as far away as Cairo. He sent the people of Damascus into haste into the street, and woke up the awake people in their beds in Beirut.

It hit an area formed on both sides of the border by more than a decade of civil war in Syria. On the Syrian side, the affected area is divided between government-held territory and the last opposition-held enclave in the country, surrounded by Russian-backed government forces. Meanwhile, Turkey is home to millions of refugees from this conflict.

Opposition-held areas of Syria are teeming with about 4 million people who have been displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings already destroyed by bombing in the past. The opposition emergency organisation, the White Helmets, said in a statement that hundreds of families were still trapped under the rubble.

Rescue workers said overwhelmed health facilities and hospitals were quickly filling up with the wounded. And according to medical organization SAMS, others have been emptied, including the maternity hospital.

The area sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes. About 18,000 people were killed in a similarly powerful earthquake that struck northwest Turkey in 1999.

The US Geological Survey measured Monday’s earthquake at 7.8. Hours later, a magnitude 7.5 missile struck more than 100 km (60 mi) away. It was a new quake, not an aftershock, an official from Turkey’s disaster management agency said, though its effects were not immediately clear. Orhan Tatar told reporters that hundreds of aftershocks are expected after the quakes.

Thousands of buildings were reported to have collapsed in a wide area stretching from the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometers (200 miles) to the northeast. A hospital in the Mediterranean port city of Iskenderun collapsed, Fuat Aktay, the vice president, said, but the number of casualties was not immediately known.

And television stations broadcast in Turkey, the screens split into four or five screens showing live coverage of rescue efforts in the hardest-hit provinces. In the city of Kahramanmaras, rescuers pulled two children alive from the rubble, one of whom was seen lying on a stretcher on the snow-covered ground.

Offers of help – from search and rescue teams to medical supplies and money – poured in from dozens of countries, as well as the European Union and NATO.

Naturalist Dr Stephen Godby said the damage evident from photographs of affected areas is usually associated with a great loss of life – while frigid temperatures and the difficulty of working in areas wracked by civil war will only complicate rescue efforts. Risks at Nottingham Trent University.

In Turkey, people trying to leave earthquake-stricken areas have caused traffic jams, hampering the efforts of emergency teams trying to reach the affected areas. The authorities urged residents not to walk on the roads. Mosques were opened across the region to provide shelter for people unable to return to their damaged homes amid temperatures that were approaching freezing.

The earthquake badly damaged Gaziantep’s most famous landmark, its historic castle perched on top of a hill in the city center. Pictures from the city showed that parts of the castle walls and watch towers were flattened, and other parts were severely damaged.

In Diyarbakir, hundreds of rescue workers and civilians formed lines across a mountain of debris, moving broken pieces of concrete, household belongings and other rubble as they searched for trapped survivors while excavators dug through the rubble below.

In northwest Syria, the earthquake has added new woes to the opposition-held enclave centered in Idlib province, which has been under siege for years, with repeated Russian and government air strikes. The region depends on aid flows from neighboring Turkey for everything from food to medical supplies.

The opposition Syrian Civil Defense described the situation there as “catastrophic”.

Osama Abdel Hamid, who was being treated for injuries in a hospital in Idlib, said most of his neighbors had died. He said the four-story building collapsed as he, his wife and three children ran towards the exit. A wooden door fell on them and served as a shield.

“I’m reborn, thank God,” he said.

In the small Syrian rebel-held town of Azmarin in the mountains on the Turkish border, the bodies of many dead children, wrapped in blankets, have been brought to hospital.

The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Sira said the earthquake caused some damage to the al-Murqab, or watchtower castle, built by the Crusaders on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Part of the tower and some walls collapsed.

The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was 33 kilometers (20 miles) from Gaziantep. It was 18 kilometers (11 miles) deep.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in 10 Turkish provinces, and some 7,000 have been injured, according to the country’s disaster management agency. The death toll in the government-controlled areas of Syria has risen to more than 370 people and nearly 1,000 wounded. In rebel-held areas, more than 200 people have been killed, according to the White Helmets, although medical organization SAMS put the death toll at more than 135; Both said hundreds were injured.

Hussein Yaman, an MP from the Turkish state of Hatay, said that many of his family members are trapped under the rubble of their collapsed homes.

“There are a lot of other people who are also trapped,” he told HaberTurk TV by phone. There are many buildings damaged. people in the streets. It’s raining, it’s winter.”

___

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Basem Marwa and Karim Chehayeb in Beirut and Kim Tung-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos