well, short documentaries, from african hill. i'm going to do that from south africa, ethiopia. and nigeria. we been to go over some stuff in this class. she saw this as my, and my rollback africa direct on al jazeera, we understand the differences and similarities of culture across the world. so no matter where you call home will, but you can use in current affairs that matter to years. ah ah, i'm tell mccrae, this is al jazeera live from doha, with breaking news coverage. more than 500 people are fed did after a powerful earthquake,

shakes the south eastern region of to kia and northern syria. many of those casualties are in syria, search and rescue if it's are underway. and hospitals are already overwhelmed, trying to treat the injured 3 minutes where very, very, very old whole and terrific. and very difficult for every one. ah, more than 500 people have been killed across to kia and syria after a magnitude 7.8. earthquake struck the south eastern region of puzzled chick. it's severely affected to at least 10 alba cities across to kia across the border and syria. the quiet struck cities of a leper hama and latter care. when we call soon, sharif begins our coverage, ah, the scenes that follow a powerful north clay rescue workers crumbling across piles of debris,

trying to reach survivors. the accretion made harder by albany to stone. this is for level is asked years, they are not by the offer turkish disaster or to the g. there it means an international or is after international level disaster nuclear smoke remote areas. an eastern turkey, harder to access at the best of times. but early rescue efforts are also been hindered by bad weather and cars calling for international help with more than 10 cities affected, neighboring severe has also been hit hard casualties, a mounting the regions of an epo hummer and luckier among the worst affected abuse. usually you do like you should get a job in civilian buildings have completely been destroyed due to an earthquake

that hit the north west of syria around 4 30 in the morning. the situation is dire and catastrophic. tens of buildings have fallen in the city of sel. kinda rockland is a complete electrical blackout. it's really catastrophic. every one is on the streets . the buildings are either destroyed or barely holding. here. the quake was felt throughout the eastern mediterranean, including lebanon, cypress palestine, israel, and as far as egypt, turkey sits on top of major seismic fault lines and is frequently shaken by uh, quakes. some 80000 people were killed in quakes that hit the northwest in 1999 on a cold, some sheriff al jazeera but turkey is vice president, so it says they are in contact with several countries to receive help. old buildings that are hosting hospitals have been effected. we are doing our best in order to give assistance to the people. we have provide the tents and counts

already in the nearby area. rescue operations have already started and we are in contact with every concerned, party and disregard. we have also received information of so many countries that are ready to help. we have requested medical supplies and medical equipment. but we have 3 correspondents covering this breaking news for us. russell said it isn't a sample sent her isn't by root, but 1st let's go to some castiano who's monitoring developments for us from a stan bull. can you just bring us up to date with the damage to the infrastructure, including the airports and some of the health facilities like hospitals in the region as well. i tell there are just 2 words to summarize the situation and it took yeah. and in the surrounding areas neighboring countries this morning, which is a tragedy and catastrophe. and so far we have heard official saying that to a port in god's down tip and call her mom or 2 very close by cities. they are

a ports, have been shut down for civilian nation for now. and there are 2 hospitals that have collapsed in a true care, southern city, hawkeye, which is by these syria border. also, schools have been close down for a week. for now, we don't know how long it will take, and we have heard that the pipeline natural gas pipeline in godaddy have been call her. mom has been shut down for a while and she will say that it may take days to repair those pipelines, which means those civilians who are outside right now who are not able to get in their apartments or their houses may need to stay longer outside. then it will be difficult to warm them up in santa and call her mom and i have to their line that they got sent up right now. there is heavy snow. people are outside waiting and under snow or in their cars. if they don't know when it will be safe for them to

get back in their apartments, but those infrastructures like natural gas pipelines being damaged, these are critical situations and it makes it worse for the civilians to take care of themselves. as the seasonal conditions are not helping those people who are suffering this very big earthquake that hits to syria and other region. obviously a mess of it's quite like this requires a mess of emergency response, understand the search and rescue teams of being deployed from, from a stand bowl. is that correct? a definite they definitely, i mean there are 10 more eastern cities that are affected by this earthquake. s for the geology. experts at the, the earthquake was less than 8 kilometers the, which means it was close to the surface and that caused those all 10 cities and the

surrounding areas to be affected by the $7.00, magnitude earthquake. this is why so many cities are effected and that's why we are seeing a big cut test drove. and the experts are telling on tv shows that the area that is prone to this earthquake is an intersection point for a, for a major full line. that's why the impact of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake was actually felt as if it was 11.0 magnitude. this is the reason why we are seeing such a big catholic truck right now. we are seeing so many buildings being level down in the area and that's why a currently in the a ports are giving priority to the when italian aid organization to bring medical supplies and went to the region. for now, we know that there are many plans. they can go from a stumble, a port to bring aid to these cities,

and then to care. a number of countries including the united states, has already pledged help and assistance to, to, to kia what does the country need and the data hid. well, in the 1st hours of this earthquake, we heard turkish interior minister saying back to kit and nouns level or alert level alarm level, which means true care is asking for international assistance. because as the geography that has been hit by this earthquake is a very wide area, the distances are, are long. and there are so many people in this area. turkish rescue teams who are actually very expert ties in these kinds of disasters will not be enough. but why to ask for international how we heard united states as we heard israel saying that they are minister said that is why i was preparing for us with

a plan for true care and other areas. also also be john announced that they are sending 307 to rescue workers to, to care, to coordinate and help the turkish rescue workers. it was the same in 1999 earthquake when it comes to earthquakes. the people, the country is actually that are, even at the brink of war, they just try to help each other and it probably, we're going to be hearing more countries sending more rescue workers more help to the turkish authorities to deal with the military and situation that that hits 2 kids in the region. okay, thank you so much for that update this sentiment. cuz the only for us from a stand bowl will earlier we spoke on the phone with karen clinic who is the head of the turkish rid crisen. it is the group is currently using all resources available. 7 proven effective for and

b has 7 to 6 because you're all the p's and for the, for the, for the injured people. we have a disease as for level disasters announced by the turkish disaster. also the t means and its international disaster information of level disaster. so the 1st turkish disaster response plan activated by them all campus these shelters, food rescue and search capacities and help purpose. these deployed to the effective provinces, turkeys, rex goodson. ideas, branches, regional, regional branches supporting us be activity that the fielding 7 probing says be deploy, others are shelters and food capacity for all different disasters.

response centers from different provinces to care. busy and to be out as responsible for the services. so if you could provide it to the hospital eco seasons for donations in every province our centers. because unfortunately our estimation, the casualties will be right on the block needs as well. so we have coordinations crisis centers in each provinces and headquarters as well. let's say speak to is an, a honda who joins us from by roots now. and we know that to 240 people have been

killed and syria, and i know you've been speaking to a number of your contacts. the can you give us an idea of just how bad and how wide spread the damage is in syria? well, the nearly 240 people who were killed in this earthquake were in government controlled areas. but what we understand now from the syrian civil defense in opposition controlled areas. they are confirming at least 143 people were killed. 143 opposition control territories nearly to 40 in government health areas. this earthquake was powerful buildings collapse in many towns and cities. in a number of provinces, a state of emergency has been declared. there's also they also declared disaster zones. what we understand from the syrian civil defense is that hundreds of families are still trapped underneath the rubble in the north of the country,

and there is no space. so you have, you know, civil defense groups trying their best to save whoever they can fave, but civilians who can see from the videos emerging from that area are digging with their bare hands. they just do not have the equipment and the ability to do this quickly. they're expecting this to continue for days, and that's why they are appealing for international assistance. and it's not just that there's also the problem of hospitals treating the wounded in the north. many of the hospitals were destroyed during the course of the war. and there's a lack of doctors, there's a lack of nurses, there's a lack of, there's a lack of medicine. so that's why they're appealing for international assistance and government control territories. there may be hospitals, but it is also a cash strapped estate that requires assistance. so widespread damage the human poll that continues to rise desperate cries for help. from the people in this area we have to remember, millions of people are living in tents and camps. many of them displaced as

a result of the war. and there are difficult conditions, right now. rescue teams are operating under because of the rain so snow. there is severe weather, a winter weather conditions in bath area. so people are out in the cold. they've lost their homes. so the situation is extremely dire. you mentioned international aid and assistance and we know that many countries have already pledged to help to keep it. what about syria? how difficult is it to get international aid and into the areas that are affected at the moment? well, the united nations operates in government controlled area. they will be able to bring in supplies, but bringing in supplies to opposition. controlled territories is going to be quite difficult. first of all, to care needs help itself and you know,

it borders northern syria. how will it be able to, to, to help the people have more than syria and then you have the issue of cross border aids. if, if aide will be able to cross the front lines. this is not going to be easy. i mean, every time in the united nations, every 6 months, the renewal, it comes up for renewal, the cross border 8 assistance. there is some opposition from allies of damascus, like russia who want aid to be channeled through government control territories into opposition control territories. so in light of the situation now, will they be able to bring in aid international organizations to the border crossing for this isn't very poor region where people are struggling to put food on the table, not just in the north, across the country, even in government controlled areas people are suffering 90 percent of the population living below the poverty line. so they are going to need all the help

they can get to deal with this disaster. then a urine base route. and if you felt the coil over the quite via and living on as well, can you explain what it was like? are there any reports of damage there? well, just after 3 am powerful tremor. everyone felt it. we, we all woke up. we all evacuated the building. that tremor lasted for 40 seconds and then there were after shocks. people here are already a traumatized population. nearly 2 and a half years ago there was a massive explosion, one of the biggest non nuclear blast in recent history. so immediately people thought that this could be another explosion, so people were in the streets, they were worried, they didn't want to return to their apartments or, or their homes. no minor damage has been reported. the interior ministry is saying just a short while ago that no buildings collapsed,

but people were really concerned because this is a cash strapped, the government, a government accused of decades of a political classic use of decades of corruption and mismanagement. that there is no personnel or equipment to deal with a disaster like this. even if a few buildings collapsed, they will not be able to do anything. and we saw that in the aftermath of the bay roads port explosion without the help of the international community. they were not, they would have not been able to pick people from underneath the rubble. so people are relieved that you know, buildings didn't collapse here because of that. but the situation, but no doubt that people are concerned for the possibility of aftershocks. ok. thank you very much. that is as i know harder for us in beirut, him. marson kamara is the middle east regional director for the syrian american medical society. he says the situation in northern syria is dire. it's an old all week. took long time for for

us to understand what, what's going. gone very heavy. everything inside the office get shaking and her there the i wait, wait. we used to go downstairs in the in very difficult weather. maybe you can see me the thing inside my car, alongside with my family because of the inspection of the government not to go to the door to our homes in those hours though very heavy rain and the day 3 minutes where very, very, very, oh, full and terrific on very difficult for, for us and for everyone, we are, are you in turkey, in, in a stable state and then the government doing good. it's best to,

to help people on to respond. but that the crisis is inside syria. unfortunately, at least in not way see yet, it's very, very horrific that you wish. and right now we got initial information from all a hospital or about then all this is and hundreds of injured beeble dead that, that hot with those or hot with those are all that alone and from the number of casualties in those hospitals. unfortunately, we used to evacuate one of our method to hospitals because of that, that image and then a because of the n squeak. and also we have at, at, at least a 5 to 7 death is in as she felt hospital in a pretty la meteorologist rob mckelly joined us here in the studio. can you just

give us an idea about some of the conditions that the search and rescue teams and those have been impacted. are bothers with quite a facing at the moment. yeah, it's, it's dirt his worst on the or could have happened. first of all, a stumble airport, you just got problem itself as a long way away. but that's been special. ed or i'm not sure what's happening as you'd have at the moment. but let's have a look when they got multiple problems. clearly, miller, when do you think temperature is one of them? well, we've got a range of about 0 to below 0 depending on how up high above sea level you are. and we took you an area that, that spans more or less sea level to above. so we going from positive to negative, they're currently in the north of syria. these are the conditions as, as the refugee camps, which are both covered in snow or if you're a bit lower, covered in rate and, and muddy. so you got both these glitches to contain with throughout the whole of the potential rescue area. and you can see the blue on this is forecast rain, the white is forecast snow and we have both very typically. so, during today, it looked at the moment rad live output deserts, fairly dry, but i think rain is on its way in for the most part,

up to the back here. but snow will be on the high ground beyond, but an overnight we go sub 0. so the snow level will come down, it'll be sleet, rain, or more likely later snow over most the rescue area, the ching things. it's still falling with fairly windy weather. i suspect now the forecasts i've got specifically for that airport. well, that town gives you tomorrow, the rain that will be falling to snow, then a bit of snow shall and then it's fine. by the time we get to 30, that's a bit on the eastern side of our rescue restrictions right back into the se searcy and northern passes here. so we're now on tuesday by day if you're further west fine weather. so it's an increasingly better prospect if you like from tuesday onwards, but for the next 24 hours or so. not so good. what about longer than than be on thursday, or are we expecting you know, when to condition to continue for for weeks if not months. but clearly winter is,

is with us now. so it's a matter of whether the any getting the most stern storms through our full costs for a leper, which is northern part of syria, which gives you at least wednesday, thursday, friday. and we keep those steady conditions. so for the next week, there's an improving situation up until then beyond that it would be more of a guesswork forecast, but we are still winter and unfortunately i couldn't guarantee, willing to return. tom ok, thank you so much. that is rob mckelly meteorologist. well, earlier i spoke with mint, select from assemble, he is the tauriel coordinator at the daily sub on newspaper. he says the lodge dimension of the affected area will be a major challenge for 4 to kia. these regions are, you know, pretty much urbanized regions in south eastern part of turkey. they are very developed in terms of their urban areas, but rural areas aren't we cannot say that they are as urbanized or as developed. they're very modern cities. they are in the, you know,

there are some of the key developed a region. so with that we can say that, you know, the infrastructure is very strong. however, you know, when we look at the number of collapse building, we can say that there are the, are the earthquake code or the safety codes with regard to a building and construction is unfortunately not followed in some of them. or some of these collapsed buildings were built prior to this regulation. so they are very modern to be there in the south eastern part of turkey. they're very, there are some of the key populated cities in the region. they're not small cities with regards to their population, but they're very urbanized. and this organization creates the density in some of the urban centers. but the fact that it's a very large area makes things a little bit more difficult when it comes to focusing on rescue and search

efforts. obviously we know that this is an earthquake pro, an area lying on a, on a major felt line. i mean, looking at some of these pictures of what do you make of, of the building codes that was in place and do you think that it was good enough thing, some of the images that are coming through now? well, you know, looking at the pictures and looking at it from far after the things happen, it's something but you know, and whether the inspections were done, whether these buildings were safe and they were on par with the code, it's something else. unfortunately, it is a measure that had to be taken prior to the prior to the earthquake. and we know that, you know, this regulation has been in place following the 1999 elections. but you know, that transformation hasn't taken place with many areas that are prone to earthquakes, particularly. you know, it's stumble, for example, is one of those cities that is on the fault lines and

a major earthquake is being expected. a transformation has as big again, but it's not complete yet. and with the same goes with many areas that are earthquake, run across the whole country. we've already seen a number of countries, pledge, assistance and health, including the united states. what does to kia need and the initial days and weeks after the earthquake vice president watch or i was speaking earlier, he said that when it comes to transportation and some of the other needs to get very sufficient. but medical medical assistance as well as rescue and search and rescue teams are some of the, you know, help the tricky will need. again, as i said earlier, the scope is very large. so having a large number of experience and follow 5 teams will be, i think, critical to, to you know, save some lives. well for more on this,

i'm now joined by sin of casino who's monitoring developments for us from stan bolen. and we were talking earlier a little bit about the building code and watching some of these pictures coming through of these buildings that have to completely pancake these apartment buildings that have just collapsed. can you just give us a little bit of the history as to what was required of some of the new buildings and, and what you're seeing now and, and how they equate with one another. while the earthquake has had so many places in the area and i don't know the epicenter, but as we have been saying since the morning that trick is pointer earthquakes and in its history it has witness. many earthquakes. voice is one of the strong this one prior to this was a stumbled earthquake in 1999. and 2 years ago we witness another deadly strong earthquake in l as a one of the eastern towns that has been hit by this morning's earthquake. since

999 true care has been trying to campaign for urban transformation, mainly getting rid of the old buildings that can be deemed as a weak instructor and new buildings to be built accord in line with new regulations. and according to some experts who, whom we have been listening since the morning, the areas where the buildings collapsed. like pancakes, as you said, were the old buildings that were built after 999 after the new earthquake regulation had been in place. but of course, building safety is the most important thing in these kinds of, for mandatory and disaster. this is what experts have been a warning because experts have been a warning that is stumble. oh is expecting a big earthquake along with it soon after and as a earthquake, 2 years ago,

they were active full lines. that's why a big earthquake was expected. some of the experts have been discussing since the morning that this is the expect as well as the area. it's on the 4 major full lines that reaches out to eastern mediterranean as well. so this is the building safety of the building structure architecture. urban ization are the main elements that could keep people safe in situation. and just a couple of months ago, inter kear, the disaster management agency, it had the performance actually, it was like an exercise. and notice quick exercise old turkish residents and receive text messages on their mobile phones and they fight to implement the major rules for a possible earthquake. it taking a safe position in a living room or where, where they are inside their houses and keeping their heads safe. keeping themselves

safe, leaning down, but apparently some of the buildings into care were not ready to face this earthquake. because as per the vice president reported, $1710.00 buildings have collapsed so far. and thinking that the after soaks, are still under way with magnitude, starting from 5 to 6.6. and even with the after soaks, we are seeing buildings, a leveling down like pancakes. we might see more buildings collapse and that might mean more more more that people in the coming hours or maybe in the coming days. i remember the 1999 earthquake rescue workers were able to find a lot, a live people, even after 5 days. this is a difficult time and the rescue workers will try to do their jobs to take

people out from the rebels alive as long as they can. but the buildings, the number of the floors in a building. these are all factors that are affecting the rescue workers work and the safety of the people who are trapped right now under those buildings under those of rebels. and some say that thousands of people are trapped. we don't have any figures on how many people are trapped under those buildings. but i have been saying since the morning that each hour in each hour that is passing by the tragedy, the reports about the tragedy and cut this roof seemed to be increasing. it's going to be a long and arduous journey ahead trying to get to all of those areas. and thank you so much that send him casias who's an sample for us. while for the viewers who are just joining us, let's recap this breaking news story. more than 500 people have been killed.