A major earthquake has hit Turkey this evening near the city of Gaziantep, a city of 2.1 million people. The quake, which measured 7.8M on the Richter scale, is said to have caused widespread damage based on early reports and hit roughly 30 kilometres west-northwest of the city.
The US Geological Survey reported that the earthquake hit at approximately 1:17 UTC, or roughly one hour ago as of the time of writing. The quake registered at a magnitude of 7.8, with an aftershock occurring at 1:28 UTC registering in at 6.7M, and a second aftershock at 1:36 UTC hitting 5.6M.
The major 7.8M earthquake is said to have hit at a depth of 17.9 kilometres near to Gaziantep, Turkey, which is found 185 kilometres east of Adana, and 97 kilometres north of Aleppo, Syria. The earthquake meanwhile is said to have been felt in neighbouring Lebanon, Cyprus, Iraq, and Syria, in addition to Turkey.
Reports of the damage from the earthquake are now hitting social media, with images and videos on Twitter showing significant destruction from the event.
Damage is also being reported in regions of Syria as well.
Reports on injuries and fatalities have not yet been made public, however the USGS has indicated that the potential fatalities could be in the thousands, based on the magnitude of the quake.
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