Nearly 5,000 people have died and many others remained trapped under debris after a powerful earthquake jolted southern Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday, with tremors also reported in Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel, making it the region’s deadliest quake in over a decade.
KEY FACTS
According to the United States Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time, followed by a 6.7 magnitude aftershock just 11 minutes later.
The quake had a shallow depth of only 17.9 kilometers (11.1 miles) with the epicenter located just 20 miles from the major Turkish city of Gaziantep.
The death toll from the quake is at least 4,983 according to reporting from the Associated Press—and could rise, as hundreds were hospitalized with injuries and more people are believed to be trapped under collapsed buildings.
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