SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Health minister Saman Barzanji said he is monitoring the earthquake situation, putting the emergency department on alert following last night’s massive earthquake that struck neighboring Turkey.
More than 1000 people were killed and thousands injured on Monday, after a major earthquake of magnitude, 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, collapsing buildings and triggering searches for survivors in the rubble.
The quake, which hit in the early darkness of a winter morning, was also felt in Cyprus, Lebanon, and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.
The death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue operations are still underway in the most damaged sites of the quake in both Turkey and Syria.
A number of aftershocks were felt in the Kurdistan Region, more seriously in Erbil and Duhok provinces, causing panic among the locals.
“Fortunately, no one has been admitted to hospital in the Kurdistan Region because of the aftershocks,” the health minister said.
