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A strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey early on Monday and was felt across the border in Lebanon and Syria.
The quake struck at 4:17 am local time (0117 GMT). It was centred about 32km (20 miles) from Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in the country’s south-east.
The earthquake struck about 26km (16 miles) from the town of Nurdağı. It was 17.7km (11 miles) deep, according to the US Geological Survey. A strong 6.7 temblor rumbled about 10 minutes later.
The southern region of Gaziantep – one of Turkey’s key industrial and manufacturing hubs – borders Syria. There were reports of tremors felt in Lebanon, Greece, Syria, Israel and Cyprus.
Turkish authorities have not yet reported any deaths or injuries, but videos posted on social networks showed destroyed buildings in several cities in the south-east of the country.
Horrific news of tonight’s earthquake in #Turkey & northern #Syria — the damage looks extensive.
The epicenter region is home to millions of refugees and IDPs, many of whom live in tents & makeshift structures. This is the absolute nightmare scenario for them. And it’s winter. pic.twitter.com/oACzWYtWb2
Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.
Düzce was one of the regions hit by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 – the worst to hit Turkey in decades. That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.
Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.
A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazığ in January 2020, killing more than 40 people. And in October that year, a magnitude 7.0 quake hit the Aegean Sea, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000.
More to come
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report
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