Turkey, Syria's biggest earthquake leaves over 1,600 dead: Top 10 updates

Turkey earthquake: Rescue operations under way in Diyarbakir city in Turkey.

More than 1,600 people have died in three powerful earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. Turkey's death toll stands at over 900, while in war-ravaged Syria, 783 people have died. Rescuers are continuing their search for survivors after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor. A third earthquake of 6.0 magnitude also hit Turkey hours later.

There were more than 50 aftershocks and tremors were felt as far away as Greenland.

Here are the top 10 updates on the story 

- The earthquake is the largest ever to hit in Turkey in at least a 100 years, news agency AFP reported. A Syrian official said it was the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

- In Turkey, entire sections of cities populated by Syrian refugees have been wiped out.

- The earthquake struck near Gaziantep, a Turkish city with a population of around 2 million. More than 50 aftershocks followed that were felt even in Egypt and Cyprus.

- Adiyaman, Malatya and Diyarbakir are among the Turkish cities destroyed by the earthquake. Winter blizzards are posing a major challenge to rescue operations.

- Historic castles and mosques are among the buildings destroyed in Turkey.

- In Syria, the most deaths took place in Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. Many buildings crashed  to the ground. 1,284 injured and 403 deaths were reported from these provinces.

- Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called the governors of eight affected provinces for updates on rescue operations. His Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the earthquake's aftermath and the next steps to be taken.

- World leaders expressed grief over the lives lost in the earthquake. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said his country would offer "any and all needed assistance". War-torn Ukraine has also offered to support the countries.

- A fresh 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey on Monday afternoon, the US Geological Survey said, hours after the first quake.

- Turkey is among the countries most prone to earthquakes. In 1999, over 17,000 people had died in a  7.6-magnitude earthquake. Over 500 were killed in 2011, when an earthquake struck Van city.

(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)