Turkey and Syria earthquake recap: Latest news, video and death toll

As freezing temperatures set in across large parts of Turkey and Syria, rescue operations continue with emergency services and volunteers sifting through rubble in search of survivors.

It is now more than 24 hours after the first earthquake struck, and although thousands are known to have died, the death toll is expected to rise further.

We hope to have further updates on the situation in the morning.

President Joe Biden promised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday that the United States will send 'any and all' aid needed to help recover from a devastating earthquake.

'He reaffirmed the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance to our NATO ally Turkey in response to this tragedy,' the White House said in a statement.

'He noted that US teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance."

Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Turkey and Syria for about a minute and resulted in the deaths of more than 3,800 people.

The epicentre was just north of the city of Gaziantep at a depth of around 11 miles (18 km), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and the quake struck at 04:17 am local time (01:17 GMT).

Tremors were felt as far away as Egypt, Lebanon and the island of Cyprus, while a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy along the country's coast.

Hours later, a second 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit two-and-a-half miles south-southeast of the town of Ekinozu.

But what caused these disasters, and where exactly did they strike? MailOnline answers all the key questions in the article below

War-torn Syria said Monday that aid sent after the earthquake will reach all its population, even though Damascus does not control all of its territory.

The 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing thousands of people.

Asked if aid donated to Syria - some areas are held by rebels - would reach all of the population, Syria's UN envoy Bassam Sabbagh said it would.

'We assure the UN that we are ready to help and to coordinate to provide assistance to all Syrians in all territory of Syria,' Sabbagh said after meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to convey a Syrian government request for aid.

'We are ready to help also those who wanted to provide the help in all Syria," he stressed.

Today humanitarian aid in rebel-held areas usually arrives through Turkey, thanks to a cross-border mechanism created in 2014 by a UN Security Council resolution.

But this mechanism is contested by Damascus and its ally Moscow, who call the system a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Under pressure from Russia and China, the number of crossing points has been reduced over time from four to one.

Asked about the possible opening of new crossing points to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake, the Syrian ambassador seemed to reject the idea on Monday.

'I said we are ready to work with all who wanted to provide Syrians from inside Syria,' he said in English.

'So access from inside Syria are there. So if anyone would like to help Syria, they can coordinate with the government and we will be ready to do so.'

A team of 76 search and rescue specialists from Britain, with life-saving equipment and rescue dogs, is due to arrive in Gaziantep soon after the UK joined the international aid effort.

Britain also sent an emergency medical team to assess the situation in Turkey, and will work with the UN to support rescuers in Syria, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

Rishi Sunak paid tribute to the rescue effort, adding: 'The UK stands ready to help in whatever way we can.'

Countries around the world pledged aid and support for Turkey and Syria – including war-torn Ukraine.

You can read the full article on MailOnline here:

Rescuers are digging using their bare hands as they work through the night to find survivors of earthquakes in Turkey which have killed at least 3,800 people.

Thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria were flattened on Monday after a series of tremors, including two measuring 7.8 and 7.5 in magnitude.

There fears that there will be thousands more fatalities confirmed in the coming days, as emergency services battle to save people trapped under the rubble as temperatures plunge below freezing.

As of late on Monday night Turkish officials confirmed that 2,379 people were known to have died, while Syrian rescuers said 1,444 had been killed in government and opposition controlled territory.

You can read the full article on MailOnline here:

Former Chelsea and Newcastle star Christian Atsu is alive and in hospital after being trapped in the rubble of a destroyed building after Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey, according to reports.

The Ghanaian footballer, who plays for Turkish side Hayatspor, is believed to have been among thousands of people left trapped in collapsed buildings after tremors in the southeast of the country.

The 31-year-old was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties and an injury to his right foot after being rescued by the emergency services, reports Portuguese sports site A BOLA.

It had earlier been reported that a search and rescue operation was underway to try and find him, with the vice-president of his club telling local media he was still trapped under debris.

You can read the full article on MailOnline below:

Emergency services desperately trying to get people out of the rubble faced the issue of aftershocks today, some of which were strong enough to bring further buildings down.

This video taken earlier shows an aftershock taking place during a live news report next to a collapsed apartment block.

In the video rescue workers can be seen scrambling to get clear of the building, as other blocks in the area fall to the ground.

At least 3,000 people in both countries are known to have been killed following today's earthquakes.

Turkish officials say 1,762 people are known to have died in the country, while, more than 700 people in opposition-controlled Syria have lost their lives, along with and 538 in government-held areas of Syria.

These numbers are expected to keep rising, with updates throughout the night.

As the world offers aid to Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of today's earthquakes, some places have lit up buildings in support.

Buildings in Bosnia and Israel have been emblazoned with the Turkish flag and words of support for the country tonight.

Tel Aviv City Hall in Israel has been illuminated with the Turkish flag, while the National Library in Sarajevo, Bosnia, had the words 'Sarajevo stands with the people of Turkey and Syria' shined onto the outside.

Thousands of children in Turkey and Syria are at risk after today's earthquakes, with UNICEF  saying many were asleep at the time of the first tremor.

The charity says in the aftermath those who have survived will face freezing temperatures, damage to school buildings and the dangers of waterborne diseases. 

Those in Syria also have to contend with the ongoing civil war that has plagued the country for more than a decade.

'The images we’re seeing out of Syria and Türkiye are heart-wrenching,' said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

'That the initial earthquake happened so early in the morning, when many children were fast asleep, made it even more dangerous, and the aftershocks bring continuing risks.

'Our hearts and thoughts are with the children and families affected, especially those who have lost loved ones or who have been injured.  

'Our immediate priority is to ensure children and families affected receive the support they so desperately need.'

This map below from the United States Geological Survey shows more than 60 tremors have hit Turkey since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake early this morning.

Many of these have been weaker aftershocks, although at least one - a 7.5 magnitude quake - was similar in strength to the first tremor.

The fear of more quakes will be on the minds of rescuers as they rush to get people out of the rubble tonight in freezing temperatures.

At least 2,600 people are already known to have died following the incidents, with the number of fatalities expected to rise even further.

Rescue workers from across Europe are setting off for Turkey and Syria tonight, as they rush to help efforts to pull people alive from the rubble after today's devastating earthquakes.

Teams from countries including Hungary, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are all on their way to the battered region following the quakes which have killed at least 2,600 people.

Tens of thousands of people in Turkey and Syria were wrenched from their beds early this morning by the sound of the Earth splitting apart.

The most devastating earthquake to hit the region since 1939 erupted under their feet before dawn, wreaking a trail of utter chaos that stretched beyond 200 miles across both nations.

More than 2,600 people have already lost their lives, with thousands more trapped under the rubble of countless buildings torn down by the savage 7.8-magnitude quake.

In the article below MailOnline takes you right to the epicentre of the tragedy with incredible video footage showcasing the extent of the destruction and the herculean efforts of emergency services, aid workers and residents alike to save their brethren:

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared seven days of national mourning in memory of the victims of today's earthquakes.

In a tweet Mr Erdogan said: 'A national mourning period has been declared for seven days. Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our national and foreign representative offices.'

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says so far there have been no reports of British fatalities in the earthquake.

Mr Cleverly said the impact of the quakes was 'on a scale that we have not seen for quite some time'.

The UK is sending a team of 76 search-and-rescue specialists, complete with state-of-the-art equipment and four specially trained dogs, to Turkey, with a flight scheduled to leave Birmingham on Monday night.

They 'should be on the ground shortly to give the Turkish authorities the help that they need to try to save as many lives as possible', he said.

'With an earthquake of this magnitude we sadly have already seen many thousands of people die,' Mr Cleverly said.

'We don't know the full extent of the injuries or fatalities and sadly they are likely to grow over the coming days.

'At this stage we aren't aware of any British fatalities but of course it's far too early for us to say that won't be the case.'

Former Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu is reportedly stuck trapped under rubble of a destroyed building following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey.

As reported by multiple outlets in Turkey, a search and rescue operation is underway for Ghanaian international Atsu, who joined Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor last summer.

Two of his team-mates as well as members of the technical staff were said to have been pulled out of the rubble, though Atsu - who scored a dramatic late winner for his club on Sunday - is still missing.

The 31-year-old joined Chelsea in 2013 but never played a competitive minute for the club as he was sent out on loan for a number of seasons including to Everton and Newcastle.

You can read the full article on MailOnline below:

Syrian citizens, who have spent the last 11 years embroiled in a brutal civil war responsible for the deaths of up to 610,000 people, spoke of how they 'knelt and prayed fearing it was judgement day' as buildings started to fall before dawn.  

'We saw dozens of families in shock and fear. I haven't had that feeling all through the years of the war,' said Anas Habbash, a 37-year-old Aleppo native who escaped with his son and pregnant wife this morning.

'This was much more difficult than shells and bullets.'

At least 16 Syrian cities reported damage and deaths from the earthquake.

Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Syria: 'Many people, including children are displaced and remain outside in streets and open areas. 

'The government of Syria closed schools and universities for today and some are being used as shelters. 

'The psychological impact on some people we met is grave.'

You can read the full article on MailOnline here:

The combined death toll rose to more than 2,600 for Turkey and Syria on Monday after the region's strongest earthquake in nearly a century.

All Turkish club football games have been postponed, the football federation announced in the wake of the earthquake that killed more than 2,300 in the country and Syria on Monday, AFP reports.

'All planned competitions have been postponed to a later date,' the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) tweeted.

The 7.8-magnitude early-morning quake, whose epicentre was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, was followed by dozens of aftershocks and wiped out entire sections of major

Turkish cities in a region filled with millions who have fled Syria's civil war and other conflicts.

'We wish God's mercy to our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake that has plunged our country into mourning, our condolences to their families, relatives and our nation, and a speedy recovery to our wounded,' said the TFF tweet.

Three league games had been scheduled for Monday, including second-place Fenerbahce at home to Konyaspor.

The next matches are set for Friday.

The first earthquake hit at a depth of 11 miles and was centred in southern Turkey, near the northern border of Syria, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Many aftershocks have rocked the area since the initial earthquake. In the first 11 hours, the region had felt 13 significant aftershocks with a magnitude of at least five, said Alex Hatem, a USGS research geologist.

Scientists are studying whether a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that hit nine hours after the main shock is an aftershock. Ms Hatem said it appears to be the case.

'More aftershocks are certainly expected, given the size of the shock,' Ms Hatem said. 'We expect aftershocks to continue in the coming days, weeks and months.'

Experts warned the tragedy could claim 10,000 lives as the two quakes - among the most powerful in the region's history - hit within hours of each other.

A large fire is ranging at Turkey's southern Iskenderun port, in the Mediterranean Sea-side province of Hatay.

It was not immediately clear what was burning, but a huge plume of black smoke was seen snaking into the air above the port as images circulating on social media showed various containers ablaze.

The region was hit by two major earthquakes earlier in the day, leaving widespread damage and loss of life.

More than 2,300 people have been killed by the 7.8-magnitude quake near Turkey's Syrian border, with the toll expected to grow as aftershocks reverberate throughout the day.

The earthquake caused such devastation partly because of its power - it is the strongest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939 - and because it hit a populated region.

Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Syria, told MailOnline that the government has closed schools and universities amid the chaos from today's earthquakes.

'Many people, including children are displaced and remain outside in streets and open areas. The government of Syria closed schools and universities for today and some are
being used as shelters.

'The psychological impact on some people we met is grave,' she said.

The pro-regime Al Watan newspaper in Syria has claimed Assad's government did not request aid from Israel in the wake of a pair of earthquakes in Turkey which killed hundreds of Syrians and devastated buildings.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said he had ordered Israeli aid sent to Turkey, the epicentre of Monday's earthquake, and that 'since a request was also received to do this for many victims of the earthquake in Syria, I instructed to do this as well'.

When pressed, Netanyahu refused to specify whether his office had received a request for aid from the Syrian government or the rebel opposition, suggesting the request could have come from an area not under government control.

Israeli-Syrian relations have been hostile since the state of Israel was established in 1948 and there have been several armed conflicts between the two nations.

Governments and international organisations from around the world have responded with offers of support after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said early on Monday that 45 countries had offered help with search and rescue efforts. A few of these include:

BRITAIN
The government said 76 British search and rescue specialists with four search dogs and rescue equipment would arrive in Turkey on Monday evening and a British emergency medical team would assess the situation on the ground. 

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE said it would set up a field hospital in Turkey and dispatch search and rescue teams to Turkey and Syria. It said it would provide urgent relief to Syria's hardest-hit areas.

SPAIN
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Spain was sending an A400 military plane with firefighters and equipment, along with an Airbus A330 with civil defence staff to work with rescuers.

IRAQ
Iraq said it would send civil defence teams to Turkey and Syria with emergency and relief supplies, food and fuel.

QATAR
The government said it would start operating relief flights to Turkey on Monday to transport search and rescue teams to the affected zones along with vehicles, a field hospital, tents and other supplies, Qatar's state news agency reported.

PAKISTAN
Pakistan said two C-130 planes would leave on Tuesday for Turkey, carrying relief and 36 search and rescue personnel.

The destruction wrought by twin earthquakes that rocked southwestern Turkey today extends beyond a radius of 200 miles.

Buildings were reported collapsed as far south as Syria's cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey's Diyarbakir, more than 200 miles to the northeast.

Nearly 900 buildings were destroyed in Turkey's Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras provinces, said vice president Fuat Oktay, while a hospital collapsed in the coastal city of Iskenderun.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier claimed more than 3,000 buildings in Turkey had been demolished - though that number is almost certainly going to increase. 

The official death toll from today's earthquakes in Turkey is approaching 2,000, with many more feared dead.

Turkish officials upped the number of casualties in the nation to 1,121 this afternoon, while a total of 883 people have been confirmed dead in Syrian government- and opposition-held territory.

Thousands more have sustained serious injuries and search and rescue teams are working feverishly to free scores of people trapped under the rubble.

US President Joe Biden said he was 'deeply saddened' and promised his country's assistance Monday after earthquakes killed nearly 1,800 people in Turkey and Syria.

'I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance,' the president tweeted from his official account.

Turkey's lira hit a record low and its stock markets tumbled in the wake of a pair of brutal earthquakes that have killed thousands and reduced large sections of several cities to rubble.

The nation's stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul, announced a temporary halt to transactions in shares of several companies in the earthquake zone in the early morning and added more names to the list as the day progressed.

Turkey has been beset for years by soaring inflation and currency crashes, with the earthquakes only adding to the nation's economic turmoil.

Before and after images show the catastrophic effects of the earthquakes that have levelled parts of Turkey and Syria.

More than 1,700 people have been reported dead from the earthquakes so far, which brought down ancient fortresses and modern reinforced buildings alike.

Roughly 3,000 buildings are thought to have been wiped out so far.

The death toll from a pair of devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey is closing in on 1,800.

1,014 people have been confirmed dead so far in Turkey.

At least 783 people were killed across Syria, the government and rescuers said. The Syrian health ministry said the death toll rose to '1,284 injured and 403 dead in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartus' - all government-controlled areas.

The White Helmets rescue group that operates in rebel-held areas of the war-torn country said 'the death toll from the earthquake in northwestern Syria has risen to more than 380 and more than 1,000 injured'.

The toll is expected to increase dramatically.

The UK will immediately deploy emergency response teams to Türkiye to assist rescue efforts, the FCDO has said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: 'The UK is sending immediate support to Türkiye including a team of 76 search & rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs.

'In Syria, the UK-funded White Helmets have mobilised their resources to respond. We stand ready to provide further support as needed."

A flight is expected to depart the UK at 4pm and arrive around 9pm local time in Gaziantep, close to the epicentre of the disaster.

The UK International Search and Rescue team has specialist search equipment including seismic listening devices, concrete cutting and breaking equipment, propping and shoring tools.

Pope Francis is the latest international leader to express condolences and sympathies for the thousands killed and the tens of thousands more displaced by earthquakes in Turkey.

The Vatican's Chief of State said he was 'deeply saddened' by the huge loss of life and devastation wrought by the tremors, both of which registered over 7 on the Richter scale.

'His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the huge loss of life caused by the earthquake... he sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected,' wrote the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a statement.

Earlier Chinese President Xi Jinping told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in separate messages he was 'shocked' to learn of the disaster and conveyed 'deep condolences for the dead and sincere sympathy for their families as well as for the injured'.

Turkey's parliament has been suspended for at least a week as the government scrambles to respond to two deadly earthquakes.

Deputy chairman of the country's ruling AK party Mustafa Elitas said the National Assembly will not convene today and will remain suspended for at least seven days as Erdogan's government coordinates widespread search and rescue operations with international aid organisations.

Israel said on Monday that it had received a Syrian request for assistance with earthquake relief for the Arab state and that it was prepared to oblige, in what would be rare cooperation between the enemy neighbours.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech he had ordered Israeli aid sent to Turkey, the epicentre of Monday's earthquake, and that 'since a request was also received to do this for many victims of the earthquake in Syria, I instructed to do this as well'.

Syrian officials have reported hundreds killed in the civil war-torn country, both in areas under Damascus' control and in the opposition-held northwest.

Israeli-Syrian relations have been hostile since the state of Israel was established in 1948 and there have been several armed conflicts between the two nations.

The European Union has mobilised 10 search and rescue teams to deploy to Turkey and Syria to assist in rescue operations. 

'Urban Search and Rescue teams have been quickly mobilised from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania to support the first responders on the ground,' the European Commission has declared.

Turkish authorities have revised the number of people confirmed dead to 1,014.

Syrian state television said 371 of its people died - though that toll is thought to include only those living in government-held areas. 

Syria's White Helmets rescue organisation said 221 people were killed in Syrian opposition-held regions.

The figures suggest the death toll now sits at 1,606, but with thousands injured and thousands more trapped under the rubble, the number of casualties is set to increase dramatically.

Tremors from the powerful earthquake that rocked Turkey and neighbouring Syria on Monday were felt as far away as Greenland, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said.

'The large earthquakes in Turkey were clearly registered on the seismographs in Denmark and Greenland,' seismologist Tine Larsen told AFP. 'The waves from the earthquake reached the seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm approximately five minutes after the shaking started.' 

'Eight minutes after the earthquake, the shaking reached the east coast of Greenland, propagating further through all of Greenland,' she added.

A series of oil refineries have suspended their operations and stopped exports via Turkey as a safety precaution after two earthquakes wiped out swathes of several cities. 

Operations at the Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey were suspended indefinitely and Syria's Baniyas oil refinery shut off production for 48 hours amid the carnage.

Turkish state pipeline operator BOTAS said natural gas flows were halted to Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces and some other districts as a result of damage to a gas transmission line.

And Iraqi Kurdistan said it was indefinitely suspending oil exports through Turkey as a precaution.

Arduous weather conditions and damage to transport links are hampering efforts to rescue thousands of people injured by the two savage earthquakes.
  
The 7.8-magnitude night-time tremor, followed hours later by a slightly smaller one, wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a region filled with millions of people who have fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

A winter blizzard has covered major roads in ice and snow, while officials said the quake made three major airports in the area inoperable, further complicating deliveries of vital aid.

Images posted to social media showed the runway of Hatay airport in southern Turkey torn in two by the quake.

Turkish president Erdogan conveyed his sympathies and urged national unity, saying 'We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage.'

The earthquake hit before dawn near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Syrian border.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has described today's earthquake as a historic disaster.

The 7.8 magnitude quake was centred on the province of Kahramanmaras and shook southern Turkey and northern Syria overnight, and was followed by another powerful tremor with a 7.5 magnitude in the same region at around 1024 GMT.

Erdogan said 2,818 buildings collapsed after the first tremor, describing it as the country's 'largest disaster' since 1939 when a major quake struck the eastern province of Erzincan.
In 1999, a tremor of a similar magnitude devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

'Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts, although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night make things more difficult,' he told reporters in a news conference at Turkey's disaster coordination centre in Ankara.

'We do not know how high the casualty numbers will go as efforts to lift the debris continue in several buildings in the earthquake zone,' he said.

The number of people killed by earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria today has crossed 1,500.

A total of 912 people in Turkey have been confirmed dead. Syrian state television said 371 of its people died - though that toll is thought to include only those living in government-held areas. 

Syria's White Helmets rescue organisation said 221 people were killed in Syrian opposition-held regions.

These figures suggest 1,504 people have died so far, with the number of casualties expected to increase significantly.

Turkey has been hit by a second huge earthquake, hours after an earlier catastrophic quake devastated the region, killing more than 1,400 people and injuring thousands more, while toppling thousands of buildings.

The second quake hit at 1:24 pm (1024 GMT), two-and-a-half miles south-southeast of the town of Ekinozu and around 60 miles north of the first quake that wrought devastation across Turkey and Syria, and as rescue workers continued their efforts.

The 7.5 magnitude quake struck as hundreds were still believed to be trapped under rubble as a result of the first, and the toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched mounds of wreckage in cities and towns across the area.

Countries around the globe pledged to send humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria after a brutal 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit overnight.

Both Russia and Ukraine said support was on its way, given Turkey's ongoing role as a mediator between the warring nations.

Greece, which has a history of conflict and tensions with Turkey, set aside the rivalry and declared it was mobilising resources for immediate humanitarian assistance.

Spain, Poland, India, Taiwan and Israel have also announced plans to draw up assistance packages and deploy search and rescue personnel.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organisation's network of emergency medical teams has been activated to provide essential health care for the injured and most vulnerable affected by the earthquake.

European Commissioner for Crisis Management said the EU's 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre had been in contact with the Turkish authorities and had activated its emergency Copernicus satellite mapping service to help first responders working on the ground.

More than 1,400 people have been killed and thousands more injured in a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria overnight, flattening entire neighbourhoods while many families were still asleep.

Tremors from the deadly quake - which lasted about a minute and could be Turkey's largest ever - were felt as far away as Egypt, Lebanon and the island of Cyprus, while a tsunami warning was briefly issued by authorities in Italy along the country's coast.

Residents were jolted awake and fled from their homes in terror into the cold, rainy and snowy night across southeast Turkey and northern Syria, taking shelter in cars from a wave of at least 40 aftershocks and collapsing buildings.