More than 1,300 Killed As Massive Earthquake Hits Turkey, Syria

More than 1,300 people were killed after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday.

Abdullah Ayasun
2 min readFeb 6, 2023
Photo Credit: Depo Photos

More than 1,300 were killed and thousands were injured as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday, international media reported.

The United States Geological Survey warned of significant casualties. The massive quake was felt across the Eastern Mediterranean, including Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Israel.

The government has replaced governors in several cities. Gaziantep, Hatay, and Kahramanmaras are among the cities where the devastating quake that leveled hundreds of buildings was felt most. In Syria, Aleppo, Idlib, and Latakia were among the cities that saw the most damage and casualties.

Within two hours, more than 1.5 million tweets were posted on Twitter, making the quake the most trending hashtag on social media.

A quick survey through Twitter posts reveals the depth, size, and enormous scope of the impact felt in more than a dozen provinces and hundreds of towns across southern Turkey.

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Abdullah Ayasun

Boston-based journalist and writer. Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. On art, culture, politics and everything in between. X: @abyasun