More than 500 people have been killed and more than 3 000 others injured in Turkey and Syria after a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit on Monday morning.
Dramatic videos and images showing buildings crumble under the powerful shakes have been shared on social media channels, with many expressing shock and sympathy to the affected countries.
The quake, felt as far away as Cairo, hit north of the city of Gaziantep, about 90km from the Syrian border.
The major earthquake, of magnitude 7.9, has killed hundreds of people in southern Turkey while shudders were felt in Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria, collapsing dozens of buildings and triggering a search for survivors under the rubble.
In #Sanliurfa the moment a building collapsed recorded by mobile phone hours after 7.8 #earthquake hits Turkey. #deprem pic.twitter.com/YDc8DH9lbn
Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets, who works for organisation Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGS) in the Netherlands, had apparently predicted the quake on February 3, 2023, just three days ago.
Using his Twitter account, Hoogerbeets wrote: “Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).”
Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon). #deprem pic.twitter.com/6CcSnjJmCV
SSGS describes itself as a research institute for monitoring geometry between celestial bodies related to seismic activity on Twitter.
After his prediction went viral, he responded to the earthquake, saying: “As I stated earlier, sooner or later this would happen in this region, similar to the years 115 and 526. These earthquakes are always preceded by critical planetary geometry, as we had on 4-5 Feb.”
My heart goes out to everyone affected by the major earthquake in Central Turkey.
As I stated earlier, sooner or later this would happen in this region, similar to the years 115 and 526. These earthquakes are always preceded by critical planetary geometry, as we had on 4-5 Feb.
Tremors were also felt overnight in Ankara, 460km (286 miles) north-west of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.