Turkey aftershocks: Hours after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, another jolt was reported in central Turkey. According to a report by the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude of the latest earthquake was 7.5.
Earlier today, more than 1,900 were killed and hundreds are still believed to be trapped under rubble. The toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.
The opposition-held regions in Syria are packed with some 4 million people displaced from other parts of the country by the fighting. Many of them live in buildings that are already wrecked from past bombardments. Hundreds of families remained trapped in rubble, the opposition emergency organization, called the White Helmets, said in a statement.
Rescue workers said that strained health facilities and hospitals were quickly filled with wounded. Others had to be emptied, including a maternity hospital, according to the SAMS medical organization.
Similar earthquake killed over 18,000 people
It is worth mentioning that this was not the first time the country witnessed such a powerful tremor that killed more than a thousand people.
Earlier in 1999, more than 18,000 were killed after a deadly earthquake hit northwest Turkey. According to the US Geological Survey, the region sits on top of major fault lines, resulting in frequent earthquakes.
