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Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 strikes central Türkiye - GFZ

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey on Monday,the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 10 kilometres.

Agencies and A News TÜRKIYE
Published February 06,2023
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A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck central Türkiye on early Monday at a depth of 10 km, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) pegged the quake at 7.4 near the southern city of Kahramanmaraş.

There was damage to buildings and people were gathered out on snowy streets, according to images on state broadcaster TRT.

The earthquake lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness.

It was also felt in other southeastern provinces including Diyarbakir and Gaziantep and neighboring countries including Lebanon and Syria.

USGS reported another shallow 6.7-magnitude quake occurring near the site of the first about 15 minutes after.

The southern region of Gaziantep -- one of Turkey's key industrial and manufacturing hubs -- borders Syria. The tremors were felt in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents.

Turkish authorities have not yet reported any deaths or injuries, but videos posted on social networks showed destroyed buildings in several cities in the southeast of the country.

Türkiye is in one of the world's most active earthquake zones.

Düzce was one of the regions hit by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999 -- the worst to hit Turkey in decades.

That quake killed more than 17,000 people, including about 1,000 in Istanbul.

Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.

A magnitude-6.8 quake hit Elazığ in January 2020, killing more than 40 people.

And in October that year, a magnitude-7.0 quake hit the Aegean Sea, killing 114 people and wounding more than 1,000.