Daccanomics
Two massive earthquakes slammed south-eastern Turkey near the Syrian border, killing over 1,500 people and trapping many more. According to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the tremor from this severe earthquake was felt as far away as Greenland.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.
Hours later, a second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.
Rescuers are working relentlessly to pull survivors from beneath the rubble after the devastating earthquake ripped through Turkey and Syria. It’s only destruction and debris on each side of the border.
This was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the region in a century. According to the USGS, Monday’s earthquake was the largest to strike Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people.
Earthquakes of this size are uncommon, with less than five happening globally each year on average. In the last 25 years, seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or larger have rocked Turkey, but Monday is the most violent.
Over 2000 buildings have collapsed, and rescue workers are searching for survivors beneath massive amounts of debris.
Gaziantep Castle, a historical site that has stood for almost 2,000 years, was among the structures demolished.
