Second massive earthquake

Second massive earthquake follows quake that killed more than 1,800 in Turkey, Syria

Kareem Fahim, Sarah Dadouch, Kelly Kasulis Cho, Niha Masih, Zeynep Karatas and Annabelle Timsit

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey early Monday killed more than 1,800 people across the country and in neighboring Syria, officials said, as rescuers searched flattened buildings in frigid weather for survivors. The earthquake - felt as far away as Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Egypt - occurred in Kahramanmaras province, north of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.

It was followed by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey on Monday afternoon, as well as dozens of powerful aftershocks. Most of the damage is in southern Turkey and northern and central Syria.

At least 1,014 people were killed and more than 7,000 injured in Turkey alone, the country's disaster agency said.

In Syria, 430 people were reported killed and 1,315 injured in government-controlled regions, mostly in Latakia, Hama, Aleppo and Tartus, according to state media.

The death toll in rebel-held northwestern Syria is at 380, a representative of the Syrian Civil Defense said, and is expected to rise. Some 1,000 civilians were injured, with hundreds trapped under rubble and dozens of buildings collapsed, it said.

The quake could be the largest recorded in the region, which sits on an earthquake-prone belt known as the Anatolia fault, one seismologist said.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey occurred in Kahramanmaras province, north of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.

Tremors from Monday's earthquakes were felt as far away as Denmark and Greenland, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said, according to Agence France-Presse. The distance from Denmark to Turkey is more than 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles).

In a pleading voice note sent on WhatsApp, a media representative of the Syrian Civil Defense, which operates in Syria's rebel-held northwestern enclave, begged foreign countries and international organizations for help.

The representative repeatedly described the worsening situation as a "disaster" and "disastrous" and said that all White Helmets volunteers and members "are not capable of responding; the size of the disaster is far larger than our abilities." Adequate response requires urgent international intervention, he said.

As he continued speaking, his voice thinned with urgency as a list of calamities tumbled out. "Every minute, we lose a life. We are now racing with time. We need heavy equipment. We need heavy machinery dedicated for rescue missions. We need rescue teams. We need fuel. We have been using up backup fuel for the past two months."

"Tens of thousands of civilians are homeless" as a result of the earthquake, he continued.

"The medical situation is abysmal," he said. "Tens of thousands of buildings are now cracked. There's a snowstorm. There's predictions of flooding in the area. The humanitarian situation is disastrous, with every meaning of the word. It's not just the rescue - it's the rescue and the humanitarian situation."

Syria's northwest is home to roughly 4.5 million people. Nearly all of them, 4.1 million, require humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. Medical care is scant, as is solid infrastructure following years of bombardment by government forces and their Russian allies.

President Biden on Monday expressed sadness and offered "any and all needed assistance" to Turkey and neighboring Syria.

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria," Biden said in a statement. "I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences Monday to the leaders of Turkey and Syria and offered assistance with the aftermath of Monday's earthquake.

Putin's statements highlight the importance Moscow places on its relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has attempted to be a mediator during Russia's war against Ukraine, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is still engaged in a civil war with Kremlin support.

"My profound condolences on numerous fatalities and massive destruction caused by a strong quake in your country," Putin told Erdogan in a statement issued on the Kremlin's website. "We are ready to give necessary assistance."

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry offered earlier to send two Ilyushin Il-76 cargo planes and rescue workers to support operations in Turkey.

Putin also offered Assad help in dealing with the damage in northern Syria.

Monday's disaster occurred in a region that doesn't routinely have such large earthquakes, said Adam Pascale, the chief scientist at Australia's Seismology Research Center. "It's the first magnitude 7+ on record on this boundary of the Arabia and Anatolian Plate. The last nearest earthquake of this size was over [155 miles] to the northeast in 1939," he said on Twitter.

The impact and aftershocks are likely to affect a large number of people, he said, because they occurred in a much more densely populated area compared with those of the past.

"Turkey is located at the boundary of three major tectonic plates - the Arabian, African and Eurasian Plates," Pascale said, adding that large earthquakes occur more often at plate boundaries.