THE death toll from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria climbed above 35,000 on Monday morning with search and rescue teams starting to wind down their work.
Authorities said 31,643 people had died in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria bringing the total to 35,224 and still counting from last Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, The Hindu reports.
SaharaReporters had been reporting the effect of the February 6, 2023 powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake, described as the world’s most devastating earthquake in the history of mankind as torn through Turkey with a ripple effect in neighbouring Syria.
Shockwaves were also felt in Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon.
The earthquake toppled buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night.
The quake’s focus was 18 km deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicentre was about 33 km from Gaziantep. The area has many buildings constructed of brittle concrete (which makes them prone to cracking, spalling, loss of strength, or steel corrosion), making them “extremely vulnerable to earthquake shaking,” according to the USGS.
Turkey is frequently shaken by earthquakes. In 2020 itself, it recorded almost 33,000 earthquakes in the region, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Out of these, 332 earthquakes were of magnitudes 4.0 and higher, The Hindu reports.
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