Death toll rises after major quakes rock country’s south
ADANA
Rescuers raced on Feb. 7 to rescue survivors from the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Türkiye and neighboring Syria, killing more than 3549 and wounding over 22,000 in Türkiye.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) below the surface in Kahramanmaraş’s Pazarcık district on Feb. 6 at 4:17 a.m., according to the bureau.
The earthquake also rocked the neighboring provinces of Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis and neighboring countries, including Syria and Lebanon.
Another 7.6 magnitude earthquake followed the first one, which also jolted southern Türkiye. Over 200 aftershocks were experienced in the region, AFAD announced.
A total of 5,775 buildings collapsed in 10 provinces due to the massive earthquake, while the number of buildings that have not been confirmed yet but were reported to have toppled is 11,302, Tatar informed.
The most severe damage and loss of life in the earthquake occurred in the Pazarcık, Elbistan and Türkoğlu districts of Kahramanmaraş, local media reported.
As a result of the damage to the natural gas transmission line in Gaziantep, the natural gas flow was also stopped in Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay provinces.
Meanwhile, the first light early on Feb. 7 revealed the effect of the earthquake in the city center of Hatay, where a hospital and a runway at the airport were destroyed, with many people still waiting under the rubble in the city as dozens of buildings collapsed and roads cracked.
Rescue teams are racing against time to reach the citizens under the rubble, while relatives of the trapped are following the works in worry.
While the city was echoing with the voices of citizens calling out the names of their relatives under the rubble to find them, some were waiting for the news from their families by the fire they lit on the street to stay warm.
A fire also broke out in Iskenderun Port due to containers that fell during the earthquake.
In Adana, three more buildings collapsed in the Çukurova district after the 7.6 magnitude aftershock. While search and rescue teams continue their efforts to find those trapped under the debris, the total number of destroyed buildings in the city has risen to 10.
Meanwhile, Adıyaman witnessed another aftershock with a magnitude of 5.3 early on Feb. 7, while the tremor, the epicenter of which was Gölbaşı district, was also felt in the surrounding provinces.
Interior Ministry Süleyman Soylu earlier noted that the country issued a level-4 alarm, which includes a call for international aid.
Türkiye lies in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. The 7.4 magnitude Düzce earthquake in 1999 was one of the worst in the history of Türkiye in decades.
