Earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, leaving more than 2,400 dead

A dependable watercourse of injured were flowing into an overwhelmed infirmary successful nan municipality of Darkush, successful rebel-held northwestern Syria connected Monday, aft a deadly earthquake struck nan region. Mothers hovered complete crying children.
 
Amid nan chaos, 1 man sat pinch a pensive expression, his look covered pinch abrasions.
 
The man, Osama Abdul Hamid, had hardly made it retired live pinch his woman and 4 children from his flat building successful nan adjacent colony of Azmarin. Many of their neighbors were not truthful lucky.
 
"The building is 4 stories, and from 3 of them, nary 1 made it out," Abdul Hamid said, breaking down successful tears. "God gave maine a caller lease connected life."
 
At an arsenic overwhelmed infirmary successful Idlib city, Shajul Islam, a British expert who useful pinch respective non-governmental organizations, was having nan worst time successful his 7 years moving successful Syria.

Earthquake victims person curen astatine nan al-Rahma Hospital successful nan municipality of Darkush, Idlib province, bluish Syria, February 6, 2023. Ghaith Alsayed/AP

"I'm virtually taking a diligent disconnected a ventilator to springiness different diligent a chance, having to determine which diligent has much of a chance of surviving aliases not," Islam said. "We've sewage rather a batch of hospitals that had been antecedently deed successful nan war. So they had already nan foundations, everything had already been weakened," he said.

With nan added rustle of nan earthquake, he said, "We've had astatine slightest 3 aliases 4 hospitals that I cognize of that person been put retired of service."

A civilian rescue agency that has agelong worked successful war-torn Syria said Monday that nan decease toll successful Syria's rebel-held bluish regions from nan monolithic earthquake that struck earlier successful nan time had risen to much than 430.

In a tweet, nan White Helmets rescue agency said astatine slightest 1,050 much group injured, and it feaered nan decease toll was apt to support rising arsenic "hundreds of families" were still believed to beryllium buried nether nan rubble of severely damaged buildings.

An ancient castle successful Turkey was one of nan historical monuments damaged erstwhile awesome earthquakes deed nan state and neighboring Syria, sidesplitting much than 2,000 group connected Monday. Images show parts of nan Gaziantep Castle, which was first built successful nan 2nd and 3rd hundreds of years AD, during nan Roman Empire, crumbling aft nan earthquake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday pinch his Turkish and Syrian counterparts and expressed his heavy condolences complete nan earthquakes that near much than 2,000 group dormant successful some countries and to connection Russia's help. 

Putin reaffirmed his readiness to instantly supply Turkey and Syria pinch help, and nan Syrian leader, whom Putin helped to support successful powerfulness done a grueling civilian warfare pinch lethal Russian subject aid, quickly accepted, according to nan Kremlin.

"Bashar al-Assad gratefully accepted this offer, and successful nan coming hours rescuers of nan Russian emergencies ministry will alert to Syria," nan Kremlin said successful a statement.

"The Turkish president warmly thanked Vladimir Putin for specified a punctual and sincere guidance and said that he was giving instructions to nan competent authorities of nan state to judge nan thief of Russian rescuers," it added.

President Joe Biden said he was "deeply saddened by nan nonaccomplishment of life and devastation caused by nan earthquake" successful Turkey successful Syria connected Monday.

The U.S. leader added that he had instructed unit "to proceed to intimately show nan situation" and coordinate pinch officials successful Turkey to supply "any and each needed assistance."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, successful a connection released not agelong after, reiterated nan condolences connected behalf of nan American authorities and said nan Biden management was still "assessing our broad consequence options."

"I person directed my squad to stay successful adjacent interaction pinch our Turkish friends and our humanitarian partners successful nan coming days to find what nan region needs," Blinken said, adding that an "initial assistance response" for Turkey was already underway, "and U.S.-supported humanitarian organizations successful Syria are responding to nan earthquakes' effects crossed nan country. We are wished to do each that we tin to thief those affected by these earthquakes successful nan days, weeks, and months ahead."

Turkey's Vice President Fuat Oktay said Monday that schools successful 10 cities and provinces crossed nan state that were affected by nan earthquakes would beryllium closed for a week. Those areas include: Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye, Adıyaman, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Adana, Diyarbakır and Kilis.

Oktay besides said flights to and from nan airdrome successful Hatay were suspended and civilian flights were nary longer permitted to alert into airports successful Maraş and Antep.

Videos emerged connected societal media Monday showing ample fires sending heavy fume into nan aerial successful confederate Turkey, pinch group claiming that nan powerful earthquakes that deed nan region had ruptured earthy state pipelines.

According to BBC News, Turkey's power curate said location had been superior harm to nan country's power infrastructure, including state pipes adjacent nan epicenter successful southeast Turkey, but he did not mention fires aliases explosions.

The BBC said it had verified 1 of nan societal media videos arsenic showing a blaze connected nan outskirts of nan metropolis of Hatay, astir 100 miles southwest of Gaziantep, wherever nan first powerful temblor struck.

The European Union said it had mobilized municipality hunt and rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Greece, nan Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Malta successful consequence to a petition from Turkey for assistance done nan EU Civil Protection Mechanism aft 2 awesome earthquakes deed nan state connected Monday.

The EU besides said that its Copernicus outer strategy had been "activated to supply emergency mapping services."

Civil defense workers and residents hunt done nan rubble of collapsed buildings successful nan municipality of Harem adjacent nan Turkish border, Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. Ghaith Alsayed/AP

It said that it was fresh to supply assistance to Syria arsenic good done its humanitarian assistance program.

"Our thoughts are pinch each those who person mislaid loved ones and nan brave first responders moving to prevention lives," nan European Commission said successful a statement.

Amman — Jordanian seismologists registered much that 110 aftershocks successful nan state aft nan 2 monolithic earthquakes deed southeast Turkey connected Monday. Head of Jordan's seismology center, Ghassan Sweidan, told section tv that "the halfway is still signaling much tremors from clip to time."

Residents of nan superior Amman, immoderate 425 miles distant from nan epicenter of nan quakes, were woken up astatine 4:17 a.m. section clip by nan tremors. Local media reported that portion of an aged building collapsed successful nan bluish Jordanian metropolis of Irbid, but location were nary casualties reported. 

Many Jordanians took to societal media to definitive sympathy pinch their neighbors. 

"Our hearts and prayers are pinch each nan victims, nan injured, and those who mislaid their homes aliases loved ones successful today's devastating earthquakes," tweeted Jordan's Queen Rania.

A journalist was reporting connected unrecorded TV Monday aft nan devastating earthquake successful Turkey erstwhile nan ground began to shingle nether him and he was forced to fly nan area. The video changeable by nan reporter's camera usability shows buildings collapsing astir them arsenic they and others connected nan thoroughfare tally for safety. Watch here:

Officials from Greenland and Denmark said 2 monolithic earthquakes that struck Turkey connected Monday registered connected seismographs successful some countries, arsenic did galore of their aftershocks.

"We person registered some earthquakes -- and a batch of aftershocks -- successful Denmark and Greenland," Tine Larsen, a seismologist from nan Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, said.

"The waves from nan earthquake reached nan seismograph connected nan Danish land of Bornholm astir 5 minutes aft nan shaking started," Larsen told nan AFP news agency. "Eight minutes aft nan earthquake, nan shaking reached nan eastbound seashore of Greenland, propagating further done each of Greenland," she said.

A typical from nan White Helmets, a civilian defense statement that useful successful Syria, often rescuing group from bombed-out buildings, called connected nan world organization aft Monday's quakes "to prevention our people."

"Many buildings successful different cities and villages successful northwestern Syria collapsed, destroyed by this earthquake. Our teams responded to each nan sites and nan buildings — and still now, galore families are nether nan rubble. We are trying to prevention them but it's a very difficult task for us," Ismail Al Abdullah told CBS News partner web BBC News.

Civil defense workers and information forces hunt done nan wreckage of collapsed buildings successful Hama, Syria, Feb. 6, 2023. Omar Sanadik/AP

"We request help. We request nan world organization to do something, to thief us, to support us. Northwestern Syria is now a disaster area. We request thief from everyone to prevention our people."

A 2nd ample earthquake struck south-eastern Turkey connected Monday, Reuters reported, citing Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). AFAD reportedly said nan earthquake was magnitude 7.6 and occurred astatine a extent of 4 miles.

AFAD said nan 2nd quake struck nan aforesaid region that was deed earlier connected Monday by different awesome earthquake that has near hundreds dormant and thousands injured. The epicenter of nan 2nd earthquake was nan Elbistan region of Kahramanmaras Province, Reuters reported.

The temblor struck a region that's been shaped connected some sides of nan separator by much than a decade of civilian warfare successful Syria. On nan Syrian side, nan swath affected is divided betwixt government-held territory and nan country's past opposition-held enclave, which is surrounded by Russian-backed authorities forces. Turkey, meanwhile, is location to millions of refugees from that conflict.

The opposition-held regions successful Syria are packed pinch immoderate 4 cardinal group displaced from different parts of nan state by nan fighting. Many of them unrecorded successful buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments. Hundreds of families remained trapped successful rubble, nan guidance emergency organization, called nan White Helmets, said successful a statement.

Shocked survivors successful Turkey rushed retired into nan snow-covered streets successful their pajamas, watching rescuers excavation done nan debris of damaged homes pinch their hands.

"Seven members of my family are nether nan debris," Muhittin Orakci, a stunned subsister successful Turkey's mostly Kurdish metropolis of Diyarbakir, told Agence France-Presse.

"My sister and her 3 children are there. And besides her husband, her father-in-law and her mother-in-law."

The rescue was being hampered by a wintertime blizzard that covered awesome roads successful crystal and snow. Officials said nan quake made 3 awesome airports successful nan area inoperable, further complicating deliveries of captious aid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said nan decease toll successful his federation had risen to 912.  The decease toll successful government-held areas of Syria climbed to 237 pinch much than 630 injured, according to Syrian authorities media. At slightest 120 group were killed successful rebel-held areas, according to nan White Helmets, nan emergency statement successful guidance areas.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.