A very strong Magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck southern Turkey at a shallow depth of only 24.1km. Shaking from the quake is described as "violent" and serious damage, injuries, and deaths are expected.
The quake took place at 8:17 PM eastern US time, which is 01:17 UTC; the middle of the night in Turkey.
Power outages are reported. Roads are also reported cut off. Bridges are reported to have either fallen, or are so skewed they cannot be used.
The scalable map below shows the area. Users can zoom-in to see VERY nearby communities near the epicenter. Reports are now saying entire private homes have collapsed.
More info as I get it. . . .
UPDATE 8:39 PM EST --
The US Geological Survey is now saying that "Severe" shaking is reported all the way south into Aleppo, Syria and slightly beyond! The map below shows the "shake reporting:"
UPDATE 8:47 PM EST --
There has now been a Magnitude 6.7 after-shock at relatively the same location.
The city of Gaziantep, which is pretty close to the epicenter, has a population of over two million.
Reports now coming in claiming the quake was felt into Lebanon and into much of Israel. It was felt in the Sharon region in Israel at a magnitude of 4.7, with people shaken out of their beds!
VIDEO COMING IN 9:07 PM EST --
I think this one is going to be really bad . . . video coming in now, showing collapsed buildings:
MORE VIDEO - 9:10 PM EST --
And More Still:
From Beirut, Lebanon . . .
Shaking from the Turkey earthquake was so powerful, it knocked stock off store shelves in Beirut, Lebanon, almost 1,000 miles away!
Spinney’s Supermarket in Beirut after tonight’s earthquake #Lebanon #Turkey pic.twitter.com/AMnJo7dkRH
— Firas Maksad (@FirasMaksad) February 6, 2023
This from inside Turkey - location not yet known, entire apartment building down to rubble:
Massive damage reported across southern Turkey following magnitude 7.8 earthquake. pic.twitter.com/aPviBVu1ty
— UA News (@UrgentAlertNews) February 6, 2023
And still more video:
Multiple apartment buildings have collapsed after a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey pic.twitter.com/wydrBj94RL
— BNO News (@BNONews) February 6, 2023
And yet more . . .
#BREAKING: Major damage following preliminary 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/UJYAmcTkjS
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) February 6, 2023
HISTORICAL TIDBIT:
The largest earthquake in Turkey since 1950 was of a magnitude 7.6 and occurred on August 17, 1999. (Tonight's quake was bigger)
More than 17,100 people died, more than 50,000 were injured, and up to 500,000 were homeless. The reports state, that the high death toll was mainly because of the poor construction materials."
UPDATE 9:28 PM EST --
Reports coming in from small towns near the quake. In the town of Hatay, yolklar village, reports now saying FIFTY PERCENT of the private homes have COLLAPSED! People are trapped or crushed to deaths while sleeping in their beds.
SYRIA TOO!
REPORTS NOW COMING IN SAYING BUILDINGS HAVE COLLAPSED IN HAMA, SYRIA . . . .
Destruction reported in Hama, Syria, followed a powerful earthquake, which struck Turkey.pic.twitter.com/ZvFfE3SATh
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) February 6, 2023
HMMMMMM . . .
How did this guy know, some 14 hours BEFORE it happened? Look at the Time Stamp on his Tweet from 7:03 AM Today . . .
Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon). #deprem pic.twitter.com/6CcSnjJmCV
— Frank Hoogerbeets (@hogrbe) February 3, 2023
{/source}
IMAGES:
From Diyarbakir:
From Adana, Turkey:
Unknown location:
UPDATE 9:46 PM EST --
Reports of catastrophic damage continue to grow across southern Turkey and northern Syria following magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
UPDATE 9:54 PM EST --
Syria’s state media reported that some buildings collapsed in the northern city of Aleppo and the central city of Hama.
Why So Powerful?
Many are wondering why this quake was so horrifyingly powerful and felt over such a wide area? It's because it happened at the junction of two MAJOR fault lines:
UPDATE 10:03 PM EST - TURKEY ASKING FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP!
Şanlıurfa City mayor: "16 buildings collapsed, 5 deaths" [as of now]
Osmaniye governor: "34 buildings collapsed, 5 deaths" [so far]
Adana mayor: "two buildings, 14-storey and 17-storey have collapsed"
Süleyman Soylu, Turkish Interior Minister: "We're calling for international assistance"
DEATHS ALREADY . . .
At least 10 people confirmed dead after Turkey quake. 5 in Osmaniye, 5 in Şanlıurfa
SYRIA REPORTS GETTING WORSE
Utterly horrific reports coming from all across NW #Syria - every town I’ve heard from has dozens of buildings flattened. People stuck under the rubble. Any many, many casualties — including children. SyriaCivilDefense will be heroes tonight, working amid heavy rain & sleet.
This photo shows one of the collapsed buildings in Syria - city unknown:
UPDATE 10:13 PM EST --
Due to the Earthquake a Gas Pipeline near the City of Kahramanmaraş in Southern Turkey has Exploded and is burning out of control with Emergency Services completely overwhelmed with Rescue Operations.
UPDATE 10:29 PM EST --
Security video from a store shows the shaking last MORE THAN 1,:36Sec before camera went out!
Antep / Gaziantep
— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) February 6, 2023
Moment of the earthquake caught on CCTV#Deprem #Turkey 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/gg8AoTk4aS
GEOLOGISTS:
Experts are now observing that Aftershocks are taking place over a very strange WIDE area. Very different than what they have seen in similar scale quakes worldwide.
It is now known, not speculated, the 6.5 and 6.4 "aftershocks" were definitely on a different faults than the main one of the 7.4 to 7.8
Therefore further large aftershocks on all 3 faults are now expected!
Prof. Dr. Naci Görür, Geoscientist: "I'm calling out to those who may concern, check the dams in the region"
UPDATE 10:39 PM EST --
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu: We have passed the 4th Alert Level in Turkey.
note: 4th alert level means they are requesting International Aid as the damage is more than they expected or can handle by themselves.
The situation in southern Turkey and northern Syria is so bad, people are stuck under the collapsed buildings.
Communications are down. People are scared standing in the streets and open parks while its snowing.
SYRIA UPDATE:
Critical situation in Afrin, Northern Syria . Governor Erdinc Yilmaz also said that 34 buildings were destroyed in the province.
TRAPPED IN RUBBLE; CELL PHONE FOR HELP!
People who are trapped in the rubble, but still alive, are using their cell phones to try to get help:
Hatay Defne’de enkaz altında yurttaşlar var. Konum: Sümerler mahallesi saadet otel yanı Yalçın apartmanı #HAARP #Malatya #DEPREMOLDU #AFAD #adana #mardin #Diyarbakir #Gaziantep #sanliurfa #Kahramanmaras #deprem pic.twitter.com/QEuTnL4q8c
Malatya governor: "Initial assessment: 130 buildings collapsed, 100+ injuries, 3 bodies were taken out of the ruins, S&R continues"
FROM THE UN IN NYC:
According to the UN’s World Food Program automated disaster response feed, approximately 3,000,000 people live within 50km of the epicenter. In the context of prior incidents, this is likely to be a major catastrophe for those in the immediate vicinity.
Yeşilyurt (Malatya) mayor: "350.000 people live Yeşilyurt. Old buildings have collapsed. a hospital and a hotel collapsed. between 8 to 20 apartments collapsed. Traffic jam is terrible, people are outside, we need construction/extraction vehicles"
Oh, no . . .
The USGS Pager computes # of people exposed to different levels of shaking. 4.5 million received Intensity VII or VIII. Intensity VII can collapse traditional mideast construction.
INITIAL ESTIMATES PUT DEATH TOLL AT 182,000 - AFP Press
ITALY ISSUES TSUNAMI ALERT FOR MEDITERRANEAN SEA!
Tsunami alert: possible waves arriving on the Italian coast
Seismic event between Turkey and Syria. Move away from coastal areas. Update February 6 at 3:15
Based on data processed by the Tsunami Alert Center ( CAT ) of the Ingv, The Civil Protection Department has issued an alert for possible tsunami waves arriving on the Italian coast following the earthquake of magnitude 7.9 with an epicenter between Turkey and Syria of the hours 02:17.
It is recommended to move away from the coastal areas, to reach the higher neighboring area and to follow the indications of the local authorities.
The tsunami consists of a series of sea waves produced by the rapid movement of a large mass of water. The alert indicates the possibility of a real danger for people who are close to the coast, especially if in low, or even lower, areas than sea level. Even a wave of only 0.5 meters in height can generate dangerous floods and very strong currents.
The Civil Protection Department, in conjunction with INGV, Ispra and the SNPC structures, will continue to provide all available updates on the evolution of the event.
UPDATE 11:38 PM EST --
Aftershocks are continuing BUT . . . are moving decidedly northeast. It's almost as though the fault line is expanding itself.
Casualty figures from Turkey quake so far, confirmed by our newsroom:
TURKEY Malatya: 23 dead, 420 injured Şanlıurfa: 17 dead, 67 injured Osmaniye: 7 dead Diyarbakır: 6 dead, 79 injured
SYRIA 86 dead, 200 injured
Praise God!
Rescue teams pulling children from the under the rubble of #collapsed buildings in northwestern #Syria
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) February 6, 2023
At least 50 people killed, 500+ injured, 140+ buildings destroyed in southern Malatya province as 7.8 #earthquake hits #Türkiye.#deprem #DepremiOldu #Turkey pic.twitter.com/vKnEnG3N2k
UPDATE 5:37 AM EST (MONDAY)--
SECOND MASSIVE QUAKE: M7.5
After my update at 11:38 last night, I couldn't keep up anymore. The bad news was just pouring in so ferociously. I went to sleep, or at least tried to. Tossed and turned all night.
The mass-media is finally covering this, and they have vastly more resources than I do. I will have to leave the rest to them now. I did my job: I got the news first, and got it right.
This is a bad one. Historic by any measure. Before I went to sleep last night, I prayed for the people over there. God is gonna have to take care of this and strengthen the people involved. This is so beyond us, and our frail capabilities, it's frightening.
Updating (for me) was "done" as far as I was concerned but moments ago, my Earthquake Alert triggered . . . again. There has just been ANOTHER gigantic quake in Turkey, Magnitude 7.5, shown on the map below. It seems Turkey is literally being torn apart.
Here's a map showing the latest Magnitude 7.5 quake:
MORE:
THe apartment buildings . . . they just . . . fell down!
Another large building caught on video, collapsing:
Another building collapsed a few minutes ago in #Turkey. pic.twitter.com/KKbj5zVGPe
— Newsistaan (@newsistaan) February 6, 2023
and another:
⚡️Video of a building in Turkey collapsing after 7.5 magnitude aftershock that happened roughly an hour ago. pic.twitter.com/tj7yxgb38E
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 6, 2023
These buildings collapsed on live TV:
Total Chaos as buildings collapse while Live on TV during the 2nd Earthquake. pic.twitter.com/pRge7JYgZM
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 6, 2023
ANd still ANOTHER collapses on live TV:
⚡️Building in Turkey collapses after new 7.5 magnitude earthquake that was felt roughly 30 min ago pic.twitter.com/YwV3hvw36B
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 6, 2023
This nightmare just won't stop. It keeps getting worse.
More:
⚡️Building in Turkey collapses after new 7.5 magnitude earthquake that was felt roughly 30 min ago pic.twitter.com/YwV3hvw36B
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 6, 2023
And still more:
עד כה לפחות 42 רעידות משנה pic.twitter.com/CIITJa3diH
— Tziki Brandwine ציקי ברנדוין (@tziki_brandwine) February 6, 2023
