An earthquake early Monday was centered in southern Turkey, but its effects were felt by millions across the region.
Photos and s from Turkey, Syria and Lebanon show significant damage far from the epicenter in Kahramanmaras province, north of Gaziantep. The 7.8-magnitude quake and a series of aftershocks were among the largest ever recorded in the earthquake-prone belt known as the Anatolian Fault.
In Turkey, a number of cities saw major damage. In Malatya and Kahramanmaras, two ancient cities near the epicenter, entire neighborhoods appeared to have been destroyed. Videos from Sanliurfa, Adana and Diyarbakir showed high-rise buildings crumbling to the ground, with cranes brought in to move heavy rubble.
Crews were rushing to find people before darkness set in and temperatures dropped, but efforts were hampered by aftershocks that sent rescuers sprinting, including one quake later Monday that itself measured 7.5 in magnitude. Photos from Malatya showed that rescuers were able to pull a baby from the rubble of one building.
Estimates from the World Food Program suggest that 2.5 million people live within a 30-mile radius of the epicenter. But even farther away, the situation remained dire.
In northwest Syria, already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, the impact of the disaster was clearly seen in rebel-held areas as well as government-controlled regions. In many of these places, buildings were already damaged by the nearly 12-year Syrian civil war. Rescuers from the volunteer group Syria Civil Defense — commonly known as the White Helmets — were working to find victims in areas still held by rebels. A from a government-held part of the contested city of Aleppo appeared to show Russian troops helping to find people.
About 4.5 million people live in areas held by militant opposition groups, with the vast majority of them requiring humanitarian aid even before the earthquake, according to the United Nations. According to local accounts, hospitals were overwhelmed and people were terrified to return to their homes, fearing that additional aftershocks could send their buildings crumbling.
8. Sarmada and Bab al-Hawa
Farther south, in the government-held areas of Syria, there were more scenes of damage. In Damascus, the capital, residents were seen rushing into the streets as buildings rocked. Videos from the Shrine of al-Sayyida Zaynab, a holy Shiite Muslim site near the city, showed the ornate structure swaying.
In Beirut, the capital of neighboring Lebanon, some rushed out of their homes in the middle of the night, even though the epicenters of the quakes and aftershocks were hundreds of miles away.
9. Beirut
