Turkey, Syria earthquake death toll and devastation

The death toll from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the southeastern region of Turkey along the border with Syria has continued to rise.

The earthquake on Monday morning at 4:17am (01:17 GMT) was centred in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras Province.

According to the United States Geological Service (USGS), the earthquake struck at a depth of about 17.9km (11 miles). Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) put the magnitude of the quake at 7.4 near the cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

Dozens of aftershocks were recorded following the quake with officials urging people not to enter damaged buildings due to the risks.

In a statement carried by the state-run Anadolu Agency, AFAD listed the affected regions so far as Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kilis. Thousands more have been affected across the border in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, and Latakia.