The death toll in Turkey from this morning’s earthquake has risen again to 1,498, according to the country’s disaster management agency.
The combined death toll from the initial quake in Turkey and Syria now stands at more than 2,300 after 810 people were confirmed dead in Syria, the AFP news agency reports.
Residents of some of the cities hit by today’s earthquakes have described the shock and fear of experiencing two such large tremors in quick succession.
Tulin Akkaya, who lives in Diyarbakir, around 180 miles east of where the quakes struck, said she was still trying to gather herself after the first quake when the second one hit.
The epicentre of the first quake, which had a strength of 7.8, was near the city of Gaziantep, while that of the second, which measured 7.5, was around 80 miles north, in the Kahramanmaras province.
Melisa Salman, who is based in Kahramanmaras, said living in an earthquake zone meant she was used to “being shaken”, but that today was “the first time we have ever experienced anything like that”.
