Factz

BREAKING

Second Massive Earthquake Strikes Turkey after Killing More than Two Thousand in Turkey, Syria

Early Monday local time, Turkey and Syria were rocked by a mammoth earthquake measuring about 7.8 on the Richter Scale. It struck just north of Aleppo, in the region of Gaziantep.

Conservative estimates place the death toll at well over 2,300 as buildings collapsed and people were caught in unimaginably deep mounds of rubble.

But things did not improve later in the day, as the region was struck again and again by over 120 aftershocks.

Of those, 43 measured more than 4.0 in magnitude. Three measured more than 6.0, with one 7.5 magnitude aftershock striking the region 59 miles north of the original epicenter.

As of mid Monday morning EST, over 1,400 people have been reported dead in Turkey, with over 8,500 people injured. The death toll in Syria is over 900.

Part of what made the death toll climb so high is due to the fact that the region had a larger-than-usual number of Syrian refugees who settled in the area. Their lack of solid infrastructure made them exceptionally vulnerable.

Tens of thousands of aid workers are flooding to the region to try to rescue as many people as possible, with countries around the world sending aid and supplies including through NATO.

The quakes were felt as far away as Israel and Lebanon.