After three earthquakes jolted Turkey and Syria the day before, a new 5.9 magnitude earthquake was reported in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the earthquake struck central Turkey. The quake occurred at a depth of 2 km.
The death toll from Monday’s powerful earthquakes in Turkey and neighbouring Syria has risen to over 4,000. Three devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.8, 7.6, and 6.0 struck Turkey and Syria on Monday.
On Monday, three earthquakes jolted Turkey, Syria, and neighbouring regions.
The US Geological Survey reported that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck early Monday at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) 23 kilometres (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in Turkey’s Gaziantep province near the Syrian border, at a depth of 24.1 kilometres (14.9 miles).
According to the US Geological Survey, this was followed by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake around 130 kilometres north of Gaziantep, with the epicentre in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province in Turkey. Tremors were also reported in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Syria.
On Monday, a third earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale struck Goksun, Turkey. The earthquake struck Kahramanmaras province, north of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, and was felt as far away as Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt.
Officials and agencies confirmed at least 4,372 deaths in Turkey and Syria, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating the death toll could exceed 20,000. According to Yunus Sezer, Turkey’s head of disaster services, the death toll in Turkey had risen to 2,921 as of Tuesday morning.
There have been several deaths and injuries reported in Syria.
Sezer said at a news conference in Ankara that a total of 15,834 injuries had been reported. The officials in Syria have reported 1,451 deaths and 3,531 injuries. Rescue efforts are ongoing, and the number of people killed, injured, and displaced is expected to rise.