Turkey-Syria earthquake devastates thousands, search operations continue

Over 48 hours since the first 7.8 magnitude quake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, search operations continue, as families who lost loved ones grieve among the rubble of their collapsed homes.

The devastating tragedy has left over 11,000 people dead across Turkey and Syria, as survivors remain afraid of aftershocks and are refraining from re-entering buildings that are still standing.

Despite being one of the most seismically active regions in the world, a quake of this force has not been seen in modern-day Syria or Turkey for several centuries.

"The last earthquake of an equivalent magnitude was the  1202 Damascus earthquake, whose magnitude ranged from 7.4 to 7.6 and resulted in an estimated 30,000 deaths," according to The Syria Report. 

Disaster agencies said several thousand buildings had been flattened in cities across a vast border region. For Syrians already plagued by war, insurgency, and a recent cholera outbreak, this has only intensified their suffering.

Amid the devastation are rare glimpses of relief as successful rescue efforts continue to provide glimmers of hope across the globe, as the world watches the fallout from the deadly tragedy unfold.