Turkey hit by strong earthquake, several buildings collapse | Abroad

The epicenter was about 33 kilometers northwest of the city of Gaziantep, a city with more than 2 million inhabitants in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. The quake occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers. A strong 6.7 aftershock followed about 10 minutes later.

Turkish authorities have not yet reported any deaths or injuries, but images of collapsed buildings are being shared on social media, as well as testimonials from people believed to be trapped under the rubble of buildings. According to Turkish television station HaberTurk, several buildings have collapsed in the provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakir and Malatya.

The tremors were also felt in Cyprus, Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Some buildings in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama have collapsed, according to Syrian state media. Buildings also shook in Beirut and Damascus and many people took to the streets in fear.

Earthquakes occur regularly in Turkey, because the country lies on fault lines. When the tectonic plates collide, it causes earthquakes. In November last year, the country was also hit by an earthquake, then with a magnitude of 5.9. At the time, at least 80 people were injured and 8,000 buildings were checked for damage. The epicenter of the quake was in the province of Düzce on the Black Sea, about 200 kilometers from the capital Ankara.

In November 1999, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 killed about 900 people, also in Düzce. In September of the same year, a particularly strong 7.4 magnitude earthquake had claimed the lives of more than 17,000 people in the region around the industrial city of Izmit, some 130 kilometers to the west. An earthquake in Izmir in October 2020 killed more than a hundred people.