Powerful quake hits southern Turkey and Syria

Around 4 a.m. on Monday, one of the largest earthquakes in a century to hit south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, jolted locals out of their beds and sent tremors as far as Lebanon and Israel. The terrible 7.8-magnitude earthquake left devastation and wreckage on both sides of the border, and rescuers are frantically trying to retrieve survivors from beneath the rubble. The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated in a televised speech on Monday that at least 912 people have died and 5,385 have been injured in Turkey.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the 7.8-magnitude earthquake's epicenter was 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles) beneath the surface, 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi in Turkey's Gaziantep region.  In addition, a significant aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 impacted Turkey around nine hours later. Nearly 95 kilometers (59 miles) north of the initial earthquake, that shock occurred.

Southern and central Turkey have both experienced powerful aftershocks. The strongest aftershock, measuring 6.7 in magnitude, struck around 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the original earthquake's epicenter about 11 minutes later. 19 minutes after the initial quake, a powerful aftershock with a magnitude of 5.6 was felt.

Furthermore, Monday's earthquake is thought to be the largest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people. Less than five earthquakes of this size strike the planet each year on average, making them extremely uncommon events. However, Turkey has seen seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher in the past 25 years, but the current is the most intense.

According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, who also recorded 1,089 injuries, at least 592 people have died in neighboring Syria, with 371 of those deaths occurring primarily in the districts of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Tartus. In opposition-held regions of northwest Syria, the "White Helmets" group—officially known as the Syria Civil Defense—also claimed at least 221 fatalities and 419 injured. In the midst of a violent civil conflict that started in 2011, anti-government forces control a large portion of northwest Syria, which borders Turkey.

According to Karl Lang, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech University's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, the earthquake-prone region was affected on Monday. As day broke in Turkey, images revealing the disaster's actual scope appeared. Metal rods have been scattered over the streets, and entire structures have been flattened. Bulldozers are clearing the debris as cars crash down.

It should be referred that around 1,000 search and rescue volunteers, along with dogs, trucks, and equipment, have been sent from Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.