Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Horrific visuals of most-powerful earthquake in a century stun the world

Two earthquakes, one dubbed the most powerful earthquake in a century, struck the heart of Turkey and Syria on Monday, claiming the lives of over 1300 people, injuring scores, destroying buildings and further damaging Syrian cities that had already been decimated by years of war. According to reports, tremors of the massive earthquake were also felt in parts of Iraq.

Major Turkish cities were destroyed by the first 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which occurred in a volatile area where millions of refugees had fled the Syrian Civil War and other crises. The quake struck at 04:17 am (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people, the US Geological Survey said.

Also read: Another earthquake of 7.6 magnitude strikes southern Turkey, second within 24 hours

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the second 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey this evening. The second shallow quake hit at 1:24 pm local time, 4 km south-southeast of the town of Ekinozu.

Speaking to the pro-government radio, the head of Syria's National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, noted that the first earthquake to hit the region on Monday was "the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

According to reports, at least 912 people died in Turkey, while at least 326 lost their lives in government-controlled parts of Syria. The death toll is expected to rise.

In their pyjamas, shocked survivors in Turkey hurried out onto the snow-covered streets to observe rescuers sifting through the wreckage of destroyed homes. 

"Seven members of my family are under the debris," Muhittin Orakci, a stunned survivor in Turkey's mostly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, told news agency AFP. "My sister and her three children are there. And also her husband, her father-in-law and her mother-in-law."

A winter snowfall that coated main roadways in ice and snow hampered the rescue efforts. Officials reported that the earthquake rendered three of the region's significant airports inoperable, significantly hampering the delivery of critical relief.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, expressed his sympathies and called for national unity. Erdogan will be under enormous pressure to oversee an efficient reaction to the accident before a hotly contested election on May 14. "We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage," the Turkish leader tweeted.

Also read: Deadly 7.8 Turkey earthquake reminds the world of 1999 tremor

Instantly, condolence messages and assistance offers were issued from Washington, the European Union, and Russia. Greece, Turkey's historical opponent whose relations with Ankara have been strained by a slew of the border and cultural issues, also sent Turkey a letter of support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to provide "the necessary assistance" to Turkey, whose combat drones are helping Kyiv fight the Russian invasion. And Iran issued separate expressions of condolence to both parties, working with Russia to aid Ankara in mending relations with Damascus after its efforts to assist in the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Indian government immediately dispatched search and rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force, medical teams and relief material to earthquake-hit Turkey following PM Narendra Modi's instructions to offer all possible assistance to the country. 

Several visuals of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria have flooded Twitter, with some capturing the shocking devastation caused by the disaster. Here's a look at those videos that have gone viral on the microblogging site: