A 7.8 magnitude earthquake along the border of Türkiye and Syria has caused devastation in both countries, with more than 3,800 reported deaths (2,300+ in Türkiye and 1,400+ in Syria) and more than 11,000 injuries.
This disastrous event, which caused damage in Türkiye, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine was followed by a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, the likes of which were reportedly felt in countries such as Iraq, Egypt and even Japan.
The pair of quakes reportedly caused more than 50 aftershocks, and completely destroyed buildings in Turkey’s Diyarbakir, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep.
UPDATE: #Turkey Earthquake
• Death toll > 2,400 in Turkey, Syria
• > 11,000 injured in Turkey
• 3,471 collapsed buildings
• 2 US rescue teams en route
• NATO sending help
• Gulf countries, Israel rushing aid https://t.co/tZVLN3nArL— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) February 6, 2023
Thinking of the people in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine & Jordan that were triggered by this earthquake. Thinking of those that immediately thought it was barrel bombs, airstrikes, port blasts, home demolitions, etc. The collective trauma in the region is only compounding 💔
— Basma Alloush (@samboosa_a) February 6, 2023
“We were fast asleep when we felt a huge earthquake,” Abdel Hamid told AFP from a hospital in Syria’s Idlib Governorate.
“I woke up my wife and children and we ran towards the exit door.
“We opened the door, and suddenly the entire building collapsed.”
Per the ABC, all of Hamid’s neighbours in his four-storey building in Syria’s Azmarīn perished in the building’s collapse. Hamid’s family made it out alive.
“The walls collapsed over us, but my son was able to get out,” he said.
“He started screaming and people gathered around, knowing there were survivors, and they pulled us out from under the rubble.”
https://twitter.com/LeylaRostami/status/1622578197274537989?s=20&t=lEO1vH_B_F0e5vXYp-bPAA
May Allah Protect Our Brothers and Sisters.
Prayers For Türkiye 🇹🇷 ,Syria 🇸🇾 And All Other Countries Affected By Earthquake. 💔
Powerful 7.8
Another 7.5#Turkiye #TurkeyEarthquake #İstanbul #earthquake #syriaearthquake #PrayForTurkey #PrayForAtsu #PrayforSyria #PrayForLebanon pic.twitter.com/oOzAS8WTtc— Mohd Ahtisham Ahsan (@MohdAhtishamAh1) February 6, 2023
The moment of the collapse of a building in Diyarbakir’s Kayapınar district and the panic that occurred after it was reflected on the camera.#earthquake #diyarbakır #Turkey #deprem #İstanbul #HelpTurkey #Turkiye #Gaziantep #Syria #TurkeyEarthquake pic.twitter.com/IYbn2r6eDa
— uzii (@uziihashmi_) February 6, 2023
Videos of children and infants being pulled from the rubble have been circulating on social media, as well as prayers for all affected by the devastating event.
It is reported that many individuals are still trapped under the rubble.
Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Officer for Europe at The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the number of deaths from the earthquakes could soon hit over 20,000, as so many people are currently missing or displaced.
“There’s continued potential of further collapses to happen so we do often see in the order of eight-fold increases on the initial numbers,” she told AFP.
“We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows.”
A little girl pulled out from the rubble,Alive after 12 hours later in Earthquake, urfa Turkey#deprem #Turkey #PrayForTurkey #Turkiye #هزة_أرضية #Syria #syriaearthquake pic.twitter.com/Gm0JbZdeQH
— SAJID ALI KHAN (@Sajidalikhan007) February 6, 2023
The cry of a mother is universal.😭
#Turkey #earthquake #earthquaketurkey #Tragedy #Turkey #PrayForTurkey #Turkiye #Turcja #Turquia #Turchia pic.twitter.com/vXQL8gDJca— Mohd Ahtisham Ahsan (@MohdAhtishamAh1) February 6, 2023
“Once we got to the street, we saw dozens of families in shock and fear,” Anas Habbash from Syria’s Aleppo told AFP.
“I haven’t had that feeling all through the years of the war.
“This was much more difficult than shells and bullets.”
Habbash isn’t the only individual who has mentioned the initial sounds and devastation of the earthquakes have triggered memories of war, conflict and “bombs”, which have fractured Syria and its people for more than a decade.
Thankfully, multiple countries immediately sent aid to the affected countries to help relieve some of the devastation.
I was trying to go to #earthquake affected areas with #Afad to take part in relief activities due to thousands of volunteers in the queue at Airport I had to step down. Believe me #Turkish people are rushing to help their brothers. Humanity wins in #Turkiye #gecmisolsunturkiye pic.twitter.com/NrVlXuHxon
— Hafiz Uzair Ali Khan 🇵🇰 (@UzairKHafiz) February 6, 2023
Want to restore your faith in humanity?
Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, Georgia, Britain, Lebanon, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Italy, France, and Croatia have already sent rapid rescue teams to Turkey to help with the rescue efforts.
They didn’t hesitate. pic.twitter.com/vEpgq5CTT6
— Goodable (@Goodable) February 6, 2023
The US however will “monitor” the situation.
Lift the sanctions, stop stealing Syria’s oil, pay up, and go home
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) February 6, 2023
The only hope people in Northwest Syria have is thanks to the tireless work of local Syrian NGOs. I’ll include a few links if you could please consider donating to support their relief efforts:
— Basma Alloush (@samboosa_a) February 6, 2023
It’s times like this that you should put politics aside and remember your humanity, but I guess that’s asking the US too much.
