Today, an earthquake of 6.8 degrees occurred in Turkey. The earthquake occurred in the east of the country which has claimed at least 18 lives. Several buildings were destroyed and collapsed after the earthquake, this was assured by the authorities when reporting what happened. The earthquake focused on the province of Elazig and came to feel as far away as in Tel Aviv in Israel.
The earthquake, although it occurred near the Sivrice, east of Turkey, was felt in neighboring countries, such as Syria, Georgia, Lebanon and Armenia. The earthquake was superficial, just 10 kilometers deep, calculated by the EMSC and was violent enough to shake the earth and send people to run outdoors to secure their lives. All these facts were covered by local media.
Both firefighters and doctors and other emergency services have appeared on the scene to find victims with a total of 418 specialists, many volunteers also came to support the services to find victims in the rubble and save as much possible people.
Shortly after the initial earthquake, the province was further affected by a series of 80 aftershocks that ranged between 5.4 and 3.3 magnitude.
Nearby villages were also affected where their buildings have been damaged, fortunately there are no fatalities. However, citizens have chosen to sleep outdoors for possible replicas. The meteorological services have said that the outdoor temperatures in the area reach a temperature of minus ten degrees Celsius, so they have asked citizens to take their proper precautions against the risk of freezing. The authorities have opened residences and sports centers to house the victims. AFAD has distributed around 1700 tents and 9200 blankets and has asked not to return to the affected buildings.