M 7.8 Earthquake Hits Turkey, Vibrations Felt to Cyprus and Syria

Photo via USGS Earthquakes Twitter

JAKARTA - An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit southern Turkey on Monday 6 February morning. This strong earthquake vibration even spread to Cyprus, Lebanon, and Syria.

The magnitude of this earthquake has brought down buildings and forced residents to run into the snowy streets, witnesses said as quoted by Channel News Asia.

At least 10 people were killed, two local Turkish officials said.

Damaging M7.8 EQ hit southern Turkey near the Syrian border ~4am local time. PAGER is red for this event; extensive damage is probable. Our hearts go out to those affected. See @Kandilli_info for local info. https://t.co/dMyc6ZVrE1 https://t.co/0OxrznZf1v pic.twitter.com/eco071JqVm

— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) February 6, 2023

The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km near the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, while the EMSC monitoring service said the possible risk of a tsunami was being evaluated.

The tremors lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350 km to the east.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk aired images of people gathering around destroyed buildings in Kahramanmaras, searching for survivors.

Southeast Turkey was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that lasted 90 seconds. Over 100 buildings were reported to have collapsed in my home town alone (Malatya).

People waiting for rescue are reporting their locations at #DEPREMOLDU pic.twitter.com/RVN3acqBcc

— Eren Bali (@erenbali) February 6, 2023

Syrian state media said a large number of buildings collapsed in Aleppo province, while sources in the Hama civil service said several buildings collapsed there.

"Paintings are falling from the walls of houses," said Samer, a resident of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

"I woke up terrified. Now we are all dressed and standing at the door."