Madison Meeks – Opinion Editor

mvm7037@psu.edu

GAZIANTEP, TURKEY – On Monday, Feb. 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit both Turkey and Syria at 4:17 a.m. The earthquake was also felt in Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon. 

In the aftermath of the earthquake, a 7.5 magnitude tremor struck Turkey. During the earthquake, thousands of buildings collapsed and killed at least 2,100 people in the process. 

Both Syria and Turkey have declared state of emergencies in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake. ABCNews has stated that the quake was centered in the town of Pazarcik in the southeastern Kahramanmaras province of Turkey. The death toll is still currently rising while dealing with the aftermath of the quake. 

Rescue workers are currently searching through the massive piles of rubble to try in find survivors. More than 4,200 buildings were destroyed in the quake. 

The death toll in Turkey is still rising, but there have been more than 1,651 deaths reported across ten Turkish provinces. Syria has had at least 843 people killed across three cities, the Syrian Health Ministry has stated. 

There were no casualties counted at the U.S. base in Turkey. No major damage has been done to the facility even though 4,200 other buildings were destroyed across Turkey. 

The Air Force is preparing to assist Turkey according to a base spokesperson who communicated that to ABCNews. 2,800 buildings in Turkey were destroyed while over 1,400 buildings in Syria were destroyed. 

According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “at least 45 nations have pledged to send volunteers and other aids to Turkey”.