Two huge earthquakes sway Turkey and Syria as the death toll surpasses 1,300

February 6, 2023: According to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, a second earthquake of 7.6 magnitudes struck southern Turkey within 12 hours of the first massive quake that had already sworn hundreds of Turkish and Syrian lives.

AFAD said the second quake occurred at 1:32 p.m. at a 7km depth and had its epicentre in the Elbistan region of the Kahramanmaras province.

Earlier Monday, roughly 1,300 lives were lost as the first powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria.

The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey stated that the first earthquake destroyed 912 and wounded 5,385 people in Turkey alone, representing the event as a “huge disaster” since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, the Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu stated. Nearly 2,818 buildings were toppled, the head of state added.

Syria’s condition news agency reports 371 deaths and 1,089 are affected in the Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartous regions due to the first earthquake. It is thought that the Sana figures show casualties in the government-held areas. The humanitarian White Helmets rescue service, operating in Turkey and the opposition-controlled parts of Syria, nearly Syrian life is losing nearly 221, with 419 injured.

The European Union stated in a statement that it had mobilized ten search and rescue teams in answer to the tragedy, “10 Urban Search and Rescue groups have been quickly mobilized from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania helping the initial responders on the ground,” it stated.

“Italy and Hungary are offering their rescue teams to Türkiye too. The EU’s Emergency answer Coordination Centre is in contact with the authorities in Türkiye, coordinating further support if needed.”

The EU stated that it is also ready to support Syria through its humanitarian assistance programs. The EU Council in May 2022 is lengthening its sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s way for an additional year, which stretches to June 2023, “in light of its ongoing repression of the civilian population in the country.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending condolences and offered assistance to Ankara and Damascus, Moscow’s state news agency Tass further said.