
A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the border between southern Turkey and Syria, causing more than 300 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The tremor shook residents after 2 a.m. Monday with the epicenter near the city of Gaziantep.
In Turkey, officials confirmed 79 deaths and more than 440 injured from tremors in 10 cities. In Syria, 237 victims and over 600 wounded have been confirmed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan writes that they will overcome this disaster together.
"We will get through this disaster together. We hope that together we will get through this disaster as soon as possible and with as little damage as possible," he said.
Turkey is no stranger to strong earthquakes. Seven earthquakes with a magnitude of over 7 have hit the country in the last 25 years, but Monday's tremors were the most powerful. It is also the strongest earthquake to hit anywhere in the world since an 8.1 earthquake struck a remote region near the Sandwich Islands in the south Atlantic Ocean in 2021, resulting in no damage.