At 4:17 AM local time on Monday an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.8 struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, with more than a hundred smaller quakes occurring in the hours since, including one with a magnitude of 7.7.

The quakes have caused extensive damage to infrastructure across South East Turkey and Northern Syria, already over 5000 are confirmed dead and over 14000 injured. Rescue efforts are ongoing, with multiple countries pledging financial aid and deploying rescue teams to assist. The affected area lies at the intersection of threee tectonic plates, and is a hot spot for seismic activity, but high magnitude quakes are rare, and this is the highest ever recorded in the area. Experts say aftershocks are expected to continue, potentially causing further destruction and hindering rescue efforts.

Image: Image: Shutterstock: kadir AKKAYA

Produced By: Tony Putt

Featured In Story: Adam Pascale, Chief Scientist, Seismology Research Centre

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 7 February 2023