Several provinces have reported initial casualty estimates amid ongoing rescue efforts

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured after a series of powerful earthquakes struck central Türkiye shortly after 4am Monday morning.

According to Vice President Fuat Oktay, the disaster has claimed the lives of at least 284 people, wounding another 2,323. He also stated that the earthquake destroyed at least 1,710 buildings.

Casualties have been reported in numerous Turkish provinces, Oktay said. The province Antep seems to be leading the death toll with at least 80 dead and 581 destroyed buildings. The earthquake also killed 70 people in Kahramanmaras, 47 in Malatya, 14 in Diyarbakir, 10 in Adana, 8 in Kilis, and 4 in Hatay.

There is also a considerable number of missing persons.

To help the local population with the fallout from the quake, Türkiye’s authorities have dispatched 102 mobile base stations and 504 generators to the region. Schools in ten provinces have also been closed on vacation for one week.

At least 34 buildings were destroyed and five people killed in the province of Osmaniye alone, according to the local governor, with more casualties expected as rescuers work to find survivors.

The Turkish authorities have declared the highest level of emergency, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mobilizing all rescue services and first responders to aid the affected provinces, while other government institutions are coordinating response efforts.