A 7.8‑magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing hundreds as people slept, leveling buildings, and sending tremors as far away as Cyprus and Egypt. It was one of the largest quakes to hit Turkey in at least a century, devastating entire sections of major cities in a region populated by millions of Syrian refugees and others displaced by conflict. Raed Ahmed, head of Syria’s National Earthquake Centre, told pro‑government radio that it was “historically the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre.” According to the Syrian health ministry and a local hospital, at least 245 people died in government‑controlled areas and in the northern zones held by pro‑Turkish factions. In Turkey, Vice President Fuat Oktay reported at least 284 deaths, more than 2,300 injuries, and ongoing search‑and‑rescue operations in several major cities. Rescue efforts were hampered by a winter blizzard that left roads icy and snow‑covered, and television footage showed shocked residents in pyjamas standing in the snow while rescuers dug through debris.
The quake occurred at 04:17 a.m. local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 km (11 mi) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to roughly two million people, according to the US Geological Survey. Turkey’s AFAD emergency service initially recorded a magnitude of 7.4 and noted more than 40 aftershocks. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, facing intense pressure to manage the disaster ahead of a tightly contested May 14 election, expressed sympathy and called for national unity, tweeting, “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was “profoundly concerned” and stood ready to provide any needed assistance.
Images on Turkish television showed rescuers digging through the rubble of leveled buildings in Kahramanmaras and neighboring Gaziantep, where entire city sections were destroyed. A fire illuminated the night sky in Kahramanmaras, though its cause remained unclear. Buildings also collapsed in Adiyaman, Malatya, and Diyarbakir, prompting panicked crowds to flee onto the streets. Kahramanmaras Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said it was too early to estimate the death toll because so many structures had been destroyed, describing the damage as “serious.” In the province of Malatya, a 13th‑century mosque partially collapsed, and a 14‑story building with 28 apartments fell. In Diyarbakir, rescuers reported hearing voices from beneath the debris, estimating that up to 200 people might be trapped.
The Syrian health ministry reported damage across Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, and Tartus provinces, where Russia leases a naval facility. AFP correspondents in northern Syria described terrified residents fleeing their homes as the ground shook. Even before the quake, buildings in Aleppo—once Syria’s commercial hub—often collapsed due to dilapidated infrastructure, a decade of war, and lax oversight of new, sometimes illegal, construction. Earthquake expert Naci Gorur of Turkey’s Academy of Sciences urged officials to inspect dams for cracks to prevent catastrophic flooding.
Turkey lies in one of the world’s most active seismic zones. The Düzce region suffered a 7.4‑magnitude quake in 1999, killing more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul. Experts have long warned that a large quake could devastate Istanbul, where many buildings lack safety measures. A magnitude‑6.8 quake hit Elazığ in January 2020, killing over 40 people, and a magnitude‑7.0 quake struck Turkey’s Aegean coast in October 2020, killing 114 and wounding more than 1,000.
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