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How earthquake catastrophe ripped through Turkish cities: Clear before-and-after images highlight the scale of devastation of the 7.8-magnitude temblor
Before and after images show the catastrophic effects of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria today.
More than 1,700 people have been killed so far by the earthquake that struck eastern Anatolia overnight, toppling ancient fortresses and reinforced buildings.
News broke later of a second quake, which struck at 1:24 pm (10:24 GMT), 60 miles north of the first.
Tremors from the first quake could be felt in nearby Lebanon and Cyprus, and as far south as Egypt.
At least 2,818 buildings collapsed as a result of Monday’s earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
The images show the effects on Gaziantep Castle, first built in the 2nd and 3rd century by the Hittite Empire, which came to Anatolia in the Bronze Age.
The castle saw almost two millennia of use as a Roman castle, Ottoman fortress and more recently as a museum, before it was damaged and collapsed in this morning’s earthquake.
Apartment blocks housing hundreds of people were flattened, surrounded by rubble, as search and rescue teams worked through the morning to free trapped residents.
The historic Yeni Mosque in the large eastern city of Malatya, Turkey, which has been a human settlement for thousands of years (left) and later pictured covered in snow with damage to its domes after the February 6, 2023 earthquake (right)
The Hittite castle of Gaziantep, built in the 2nd century and used by the Romans, Byzantines and Turks as a fortress for almost two millennia, pictured standing (left) and with extensive damage to its outer walls after today’s earthquake (right). )
A multi-story residential building in the Turkish city of Gaziantep is photographed in October 2022 (left) and later leveled after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck tonight (right)
The Latin church in Iskenderun, the historic city of Alexandretta, in Hatay, pictured standing (left) and badly damaged by the earthquake that struck the region overnight on February 6 (right).
Tall apartment buildings standing in the city of Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, in 2020 (left) and then surrounded by rubble and cleaning crews, with cars under the rubble today (right)
Images show residential buildings in the Cukurova district of Adana (L) in April 2021 and a search and rescue mission in the rubble of one of the buildings on February 6, 2022 (R)
The Ontur hotel and residential buildings in İskenderun photographed on a sunny day in November last year (L) and then the razed central buildings, except for the hotel, after the earthquake (R)