Thousands dead as earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria

(Bloomberg) — Some of the most powerful earthquakes in decades hit the Middle East on Monday, February 6, 2023, killing more than 1,000 people in Turkey and Syria, and forcing a halt in crude oil flows to a key export terminal.

A first 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn with an epicenter near the city of Gaziantep, killing nearly 1,000 people in Turkey and almost 250 in Syria. A second earthquake registering 7.5 hit Turkey’s southeast later Monday, February 6, 2023.

“We’ve been shaken by the strongest disaster in a century,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, just before the second quake. He was referring the 1939 disaster that killed about 33,000 people. He said it was impossible to say what death toll would rise to.

Turkey stopped oil flows to Ceyhan export terminal on the Mediterranean coast as a precaution, although no leaks were detected on the pipelines feeding crude to the facility, according to an official with direct knowledge of the matter.

The quake, which injured more than 5,000 people in Turkey, was felt as far as Egypt and Cyprus. Turkey lies in one of the world’s most active seismic zones and is crossed by numerous fault lines. The disaster affected several southern Turkish provinces stretching hundreds of kilometers, where about 13 million people are bracing for colder winter temperatures. Erdogan, who is facing general elections in May, dispatched several cabinet ministers to the area.

In 1999, twin tremors hit the areas surrounding Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and killed about 18,000 people. The deadly quakes overwhelmed the center-left coalition in charge at the time, paving the way for a deep financial crisis that helped Erdogan’s AK Party to come to power.

Syria said almost 250 people died and 700 others were injured in the quake. More than 2,800 buildings have collapsed in Turkey, Erdogan said.

Infrastructure in the affected area carries millions of barrels per day through and connects Turkey with producers in Iraq and Azerbaijan. Some parts of the local gas network were hit, stopping supply to Gaziantep, Hatay and Kahramanmaras provinces, Turkish state pipeline company Botas said.

Turkey hopes to restore gas flows within 48 hours, the Turkish official with direct knowledge of the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkey’s stock exchange Borsa Istanbul halted trading of eight stocks until they make a statement on their operations in the quake area. The main stock index fell as much as 4.6%. The Turkish lira was little changed at 18.8284 per dollar.

The quake damaged the runway of the airport in Hatay, where some hospitals also partially collapsed, authorities said. Some highways in Hatay and the Gaziantep province were also damaged, they said.

The U.S. was assessing options to help the most affected, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement, citing orders by President Joe Biden. Israel said it had ordered a rapid aid program.

Turkey hosts the biggest refugee population in the world and many of the 3.7 million registered Syrian refugees are concentrated in areas affected by the quake.

— With assistance from Patrick Sykes, Beril Akman and Tugce Ozsoy.

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• 5 ways to protect your assets from earthquake losses

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