Southern Turkey was rocked by two strong earthquakes, measuring 7,7 and 7,6 on the Richter scale respectively, on February 6.
The first strong 7,8-magnitude earthquake shook large parts of Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing more than 1.900 people. Hundreds were believed to remain trapped under the rubble and the toll was expected to rise as rescue crews searched through piles of debris in cities and towns across the region.
According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the epicenter of the earthquake was in Elbistan district of southern Kahramanmaras province at a depth of 4,3 miles.
The second quake came about nine hours after the same region was rocked by the initial 7,8-magnitude quake that left hundreds dead and thousands injured in 10 provinces in southern Turkey.
As of this writing, local authorities have put the death toll - expected to rise further - at 1.014 dead and 5.385 injured, while more than 2.800 buildings have reportedly collapsed as a result of the quakes.
The quake also caused widespread damage in northern Syria, where at least 476 people have been killed and hundreds injured, according to the Syrian news agency SANA.
The epicenter of the first earthquake, which occurred at 04:14 local time, was in the Pazardzic district of Turkey's Kahramanmaras province, according to local authorities.
Apart from Kahramanmaras, the first earthquake hit the southern provinces of Turkey, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Antiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis.
Emergency crews are currently in the process of digging local residents out from under the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
According to local press reports, more than 2.400 survivors have so far been successfully pulled from under the rubble, although there are fears that thousands more remain trapped.
Orhan Tatar, AFAD's director general for earthquake and hazard reduction, was quoted as saying by Turkey's Anadolu Agency that there was still "severe seismic activity in the area".
He added that aftershocks of up to magnitude 6,7 would likely continue for the next few hours.
Speaking shortly before the second quake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the incident as the "greatest natural disaster" since the 1939 earthquake in Turkey's central Erzincan province that left more than 32.000 dead.
A number of countries have already expressed their condolences to Turkey over the fatal incident and offered assistance in various capacities.
Image: Flickr EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid via CC BY-SA 2.0
