In the southern part of Turkey, in the province of Gaziantep, located near the border with Syria, a very strong earthquake occurred early Monday morning, the magnitude of which, according to the USGS, was 7.8, according to CNN.

The southern region of Gaziantep is one of the main industrial and manufacturing centers of Turkey and borders Syria. There are also many refugees in the area.

Journalist Eyad Kurdi, who lives in the city of Gaziantep, told CNN that less than a minute after the first 7.8-magnitude quake, there were eight “very strong” aftershocks that sent items from the house tumbling to the ground.

According to experts interviewed by CNN, strong tremors are likely to continue for hours and even days after an earthquake as strong as this one.

The European Seismic Monitoring Service EMSC said it was assessing the likelihood of a tsunami risk, Reuters reported.

The head of the Turkish Red Cross said it was mobilizing resources for the region as it received reports of severe damage and collapsed buildings, and urged people to evacuate damaged homes.

Television stations TRT and Haberturk showed images of people gathered around the destroyed building in Kahramanmaras, searching for survivors.

The governor of Sanliurfa province in southeastern Turkey, Salih Ayhan, said on Twitter that there were destroyed buildings and urged people to go to safe places.

DEMOLISHED BUILDINGS ALSO IN SYRIA

The earthquake was felt in Cyprus, Lebanon and especially in Syria, as well as in Greece and Israel, according to The Guardian.

Syrian state media reported that a large number of buildings had collapsed in Aleppo province, while a civil service source in Hama said other buildings had also collapsed there.

“Paintings fell from the walls of the house,” said Samer, a resident of Damascus, the capital of Syria. “I woke up terrified. Now we are all dressed and standing by the door,” said the Syrian.

According to eyewitnesses, people in Damascus, as well as in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, ran into the streets and got into cars to drive away from the buildings.

According to CNN Turk, the earthquake was felt in several major cities such as Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Nevsehir, Kayseri, Ankara, Adana and Hatay. The authorities are appealing to the public to leave the roads clear so that they can intervene.

Aftershocks are still recorded after the shock wave. The 5.2-magnitude aftershock occurred at 5:23 a.m. local time (4:23 a.m. Romanian time), 21 kilometers east of Nurdagi.

MORE BUILDINGS COLLAPSED

UPDATE: An earthquake of this magnitude could lead to many casualties and property damage. In addition, images posted on social media showed several buildings collapsed. Car alarms go off and people walk the streets in fear, especially since the earthquake struck while many of them were asleep.

THE EARTHQUAKE LAST FOR ALMOST A MINUTE

UPDATE: According to Reuters, the German Research Center for Geosciences GFZ has estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.9 and a depth of 10 kilometers.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.4 with an epicenter near the southern city of Kahramanmaras.

Buildings were damaged, and people gathered on snow-covered streets, according to images released by the public TV channel TRT.

The earthquake lasted about a minute, the windows were shaking, a witness told Reuters.

The area often suffers from strong earthquakes.

In 1999, more than 17,000 people died as a result of a powerful earthquake that occurred in the northwest of the country.

AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE, A STRONG NOON CAME

The earthquake struck at 1:17 a.m. GMT (4:17 a.m. local time, 3:17 a.m. Romanian time), and the epicenter was 26 km east of the city of Nurdagi and 32 km from the city of Gaziantep.

About 10 minutes later, another 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 9.9, also in central Turkey.

A new aftershock was recorded a few minutes later 16 km east of Nurdagi with a magnitude of 5.6, and the depth at which it occurred was estimated at 10 kilometers.