Turkey Earthquake LIVE: Overall Death Toll In Turkey & Syria Rises To More Than 2300

Turkey Earthquake LIVE: Three powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.8, 7.6, and 6 on the Richter scale jolted southern and Central Turkey on Monday. The tremors of the quakes were felt as far as the island of Cyprus and even Egypt. The total toll due to the earthquakes has risen to more than 2,300 and is climbing. 

The quakes struck at 4:17 am 1.24 pm, and 3:02 pm (local time) respectively. The depth of the first quake, which was also the strongest, was about 17.9 kilometres with the epicentre located about 33 kilometres from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “search and rescue teams were immediately dispatched” to the areas hit by the quake. “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Around 80 aftershocks followed the first earthquake, before the second and third tremors hit the nation.

Television images showed shocked people in Turkey standing in the snow in their pyjamas, watching rescuers dig through the debris of damaged homes.

The earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit the region in at least a century, affecting southeastern parts of Turkey that are home to millions of refugees from Syria and other war-torn regions.

The tremors claimed the lives of over 800 people in neighbouring Syria with several buildings razed to rubble in the northern city of Alleppo and central city of Hama. Many people went down the streets after buildings shook in Damascus, reported AP. 

“There are many damaged buildings,” AFAD chief Orhan Tatar said in nationally televised remarks. “People should avoid buildings.”

The tremors were also felt in Lebanon from beds, shaking buildings for about 40 seconds. Many residents of Beirut left their homes and took to the streets or drove in their cars away from buildings.

How Earthquakes Are Measured?

Seismographs, which detect the seismic waves that flow through the Earth following a quake, are used to measure earthquakes.

For long years, scientists employed the Richter Scale, but now mostly use the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which the US Geological Survey claims is a more accurate indicator of size.

The Richter scale is used to measure magnitude, whereas the MMI scale is used to assess intensity.