Major earthquake hits Turkey and Syria

This morning, death and destruction in south-central Turkey and in neighboring Syria, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks, leaving a rising number of dead in dozens of buildings destroyed. At the top of one building, arcing wires could be seen lighting up the sky. The main tremor felt in at least nine cities. Survivors out of breath and in a daze, searching for loved ones buried in debris. The epicenter in the Turkish city of Karaman Maras, near the border with Syria, so close the Syrian civil defense declared an emergency, noting the collapse of several residential buildings and activating teams to rescue the stranded and those trapped under the rubble. But the damage in Turkey is extensive.

Even those whose homes are still standing saw light fixtures sway as debris fell around them. The White House National Security Advisor issuing a statement saying President Biden has directed U.S. aid and other federal government partners to assess U.S. response options. We have warehouses filled with A-word deploying trucks, rerouting trucks from Warsaw.

They're already in route this afternoon straight to Turkey and we already have teams at the airport right now from Warsaw. So they'll be landing there by like 1.30. And Turkey's president Erdogan tweeting the quake was felt in many parts of the country, stating search and rescue teams have been immediately dispatched and expressing his hope that we will get through this disaster together. The death toll between Turkey and Syria is staggering and search crews are only just beginning to come through the rubble. This civil defense calling it a catastrophe.

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