This is what journalist Osman Pashaev, who is currently in Istanbul, posted on Facebook:

“The owner of our Istanbul house comes from Malatya. The realtor is also from there. Most of the relatives of both live there. They are alive, but their houses are destroyed. They say the old Malatia is gone.

The colleague who helped us with the website and technical support is from Gaziantep. His parents live there. They are alive. They moved from the city to the village. The walls of the Antepa fortress stood for more than 2 thousand years but did not withstand today's earthquake.

My cousin lives in Kakhramanmarash. The epicenter of the earthquake was nearby. They live on the 8th floor. They are also alive. The house was not damaged, but the quake scared the children. No gas, electricity, or water is in the city's houses.

Outside, the temperature is below zero and there are blizzards. They did not dare to leave the house with the children.

Some houses fell in the first 10-15 seconds.”

What is known by now?

This morning at 04:17 the first tremors were recorded in the south-eastern part of Türkiye. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake's epicenter was near the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Another powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 occurred in the Kahramanmarash region. Earthquakes were also felt in Ankara, Adana, Kayseri, Nevsehir, Mersin, and Hatay.

According to the Ministry of Health of Türkiye, the number of dead is about 1,651 people, and 11,119 were injured. Also, about 800 people died from the earthquake in Syria. Experts call today's earthquake the most powerful in the last 100 years.