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At Least 17 Dead After Major Earthquake Rocks Turkey; Chinese Balloons Trajectory Raised Concerns In U.S. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 05, 2023 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:00:29]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN HOST: We're talking breaking news out of Turkey, where a major earthquake has struck the southern part of the country. Officials say the death toll has now risen to at least 17. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.8 magnitude quake was centered east of Nurdagi in Gaziantep Province.

Officials say multiple buildings have collapsed not just in Turkey, but also in Syria. And after shock with a magnitude of 6.7 struck northwest of the initial quake, about eleven minutes later. A local journalist tells CNN, there were up to eight very strong aftershocks in under a minute.

Let's take you now to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh for the very latest. More details coming in, Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are starting to get more and more information, Laila, coming from different parts of the country. I mean, we've heard from the Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Sulu, saying that they are getting reports from many places.

At least 10 provinces across southeastern Turkey have been impacted by this major 7.8 magnitude earthquake, according to the Interior Minister, saying that search and rescue teams have been dispatched to the region, saying their top priority, the first thing they'll be doing, of course, is search and rescue.

The teams, he says, are on high alert, describing this as a level four alert that has been issued. And what level four means, according to Turkish authorities, is that they will be requesting international support in dealing with the aftermath of this devastating earthquake.

Turkish authorities are calling for calm, asking people not to panic. The Interior Minister saying that they have seen many serious traffic jams in some places, making it very difficult for ambulances and search rescue teams to get to the site of devastated areas and damaged buildings.

You know, as we were discussing earlier later, we were getting reports from various provinces, each of these provinces reporting some of the damage that so far has been assessed and unfortunately, casualties being reported, at least 17 people. And this is coming from two provinces, Sanliurfa and Osmaniye, reporting a total of at least 17 people who have so far been killed as a result of this earthquake.

Dozens of buildings damaged. And as we've been reporting, countries across this region have felt this earthquake from Syria, where now we're also getting reports of damage in different cities in Syria as well. Syrian state media reporting that a number of buildings, multiple buildings they say have been destroyed in this earthquake, including an eight-storey building in Syria's Hama Province, buildings in Latakia, buildings in Aleppo.

So reports of impact in regime controlled areas, as well as rebel held parts of northern Syria as well. And here in Turkey, I can tell you, authorities are now in this response stage right now trying to get all sorts of support teams from the country's disaster management agencies deployed to the region to deal with the search and rescue operations.

Of course, a very, very difficult and challenging time for them. This happening right in the middle of this winter storm where a lot of parts of southeastern Turkey have been impacted by this snowstorm. This also happening overnights where you would have a lot of people in bed, in their homes when this earthquake struck.

So we're going to have to wait and see the extent of the damage. But I can tell you so far, it is not looking good. Turkish authorities mobilizing everything they've got right now to deal with the aftermath of what we are hearing right now is the strongest earthquake to hit Turkey since a 1939 earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people.

A 7. 8 magnitude earthquake that has been followed by several powerful aftershocks reported in different cities across southeastern Turkey, Laila.

HARRAK: And to your point in terms of mobilizing the disaster response, we understand that Turkey's disaster agency is asking, calling for international support.

[23:05:04]

KARADSHEH: And Laila, we're talking about a country that has -- it's no stranger to earthquakes. It has dealt with many devastating powerful earthquakes over the years. I mean, this is a country where people are constantly worried about the next earthquake, how prepared they are to deal with the next earthquake.

You have the Disaster Management Agency, AFAD, that is constantly preparing the country to deal with these earthquakes. So they have the experience, they have the capabilities, but this appears to be a really powerful, devastating earthquake that we are. And still early hours, still it's dark out here.

They believe that they are now going to be requesting international support. So this should give us an idea of the extent of the devastation that they are anticipating as day begins to break here, Laila. Jomana Karadsheh reporting there on breaking developments out of Turkey. Thanks again for your important reporting. We'll catch up with you in a little bit.

And I want to turn now to Karl Lang, he is an Assistant Professor of School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of Georgia Tech. Professor, I want to first get your reaction.

KARL LANG, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Well, certainly, this is a very serious event and my, you know, my heart goes out to the people who are affected. This is certainly not an area that has not felt earthquakes before. It's a seismogenic area, it's a very large fault zone, but this is a larger earthquake than they've experienced any time in recent memory.

HARRAK: How common are these types of quakes of a magnitude of 7.8?

LANG: Well, I think the most recent example that you might use for a comparison was not exactly on this fault system, but was nearby on a neighboring fault system in Turkey was in '99. That was a 7.6. So it's a little bit smaller, but has a similar depth.

The magnitude of shaking that is felt at the surface is both a function of the amount of energy that's released or the size of the earthquake, but also how far that energy is released below the surface. So if it's very close to the surface, if it's a shallow earthquake, then it can be very dangerous. And this was probably had a depth of about 18 kilometers, which is a pretty shallow earthquake for this magnitude.

HARRAK: And so what does that mean when it's shallow and it's also, you know, hitting a very densely populated center?

LANG: Well, yes, the -- I mean, the faults don't know where the people live. The faults are where they are. That the shallow -- what I mean by a shallow earthquake is just simply that the fault plane extends below the surface of the Earth that goes into -- it goes into the Earth at depth.

And the rupture on this fault plane was close to the surface. So the Earth's crust might have earthquakes that go down tens of kilometers and this one was less than 20, so it was probably 17 kilometers, 18 kilometers from the surface.

HARRAK: So it would make it actually more devastating because it's so close to the surface?

LANG: Absolutely, yes. Because the energy doesn't have to travel very far before it is shaking. And it's the shaking that will ultimately lead to the catastrophic destruction, buildings falling down, et cetera.

HARRAK: And can you tell us about some of the bigger quakes that the world has seen, most recently, those of eight and above in terms of magnitude? LANG: I know that there have not been many in this region recently. As I mentioned, there was this '99 earthquake that was similar that was on a fault zone a little bit further to the north of this area. This is not a fault zone that we typically expect really, really big earthquakes.

We do expect earthquakes. It's what's called a transform plate boundary, which is a fault that exhibits motion that is side to side rather than kind of up and down. So the earthquakes do tend to be shallower, but they tend to be lower magnitude. So what's really unusual here is that it's a very large earthquake that is also close to the surface.

HARRAK: Does it make it more deadly, therefore?

LANG: Yes, yes. So I mean, and -- yes, exactly. So, it is -- it's going to impact a large area and near the epicenter or the point at which the energy is traveling most closely to the surface, it's going to be very -- yes. I don't know if I can speak to the lethality of it yet, but it's definitely going to be a dangerous and very serious event.

HARRAK: And speak to us a little bit about the ripple effect of a 7.8 magnitude, because what we understand, I mean, this is being felt as far as Lebanon, Syria, even Israel.

[23:10:09]

LANG: Well, yes. I mean, the first -- very large earthquakes can be felt all around the globe with sensitive instruments. But I'm sure that people nearby are feeling shaking as well and may continue to in the near term because aftershocks can continue for some time after a very large event.

Fortunately, aftershocks tend to decrease over time. So the aftershocks that are being felt now will hopefully become less and less frequently and also of smaller magnitudes over time.

HARRAK: Karl Lang, thank you very much for joining us.

LANG: Thank you.

HARRAK: And a little while ago, I spoke with Eyad Kourdi who is a journalist living in Turkey, and he says when the quake struck, he was most concerned about his parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYAD KOURDI, JOURNALIST: People are on the streets still, staying in open area. There's rain happening now in my neighborhood where I live in Gaza (INAUDIBLE) not a single person from the neighbors went back to the building.

At 04:19 a.m., the earthquake started. I was awake at that time. For the first three seconds, it was like a light shake. So I thought, yes, maybe it's like just one of those light earthquakes that we feel normally once every couple of months in Gaza. But then like after that, it became so shaky.

I was staying in my parents' house. They woke up, they were asleep, they started to shout. I tried to shout to them and stay under the doors, stay under the doors. And I was trying to confront -- like to confront them, like -- sorry, I was trying to calm them down, telling them, please be calm, stay under the door.

And I was telling them like it's going to be over soon, it's going to be over soon. But it felt it would never be over. It lasted at least a minute, I believe. A lot of stuff got broken in my house, like furniture, electronics. And then when it stopped completely, we ran out of the building with our pajamas and slippers, literally.

And already there was snow, like 5 centimeters long snow, already gathered on the ground and it was raining heavily. So we stayed out of the building with the neighbors for about 30 minutes and then I went back to the building, got some coats, boots and went back out.

Now my family is staying in a car in an open area, open space. Electricity is still working. We have (INAUDIBLE) in our neighborhood. But I think that's not the priority now. And also, like there are some difficulties in communication. It has been, but over the last hour.

We felt -- I counted eleven aftershocks. The strongest one was like 20 minutes after the first earthquake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: And the latest word, Eyad and his parents are OK.

Let's bring in CNN's Supervising Meteorologist Brandon Miller now. Brandon, good to have you back with us. I mean, just moments ago, I was speaking to Professor Karl Lang and he was explaining to us the concept of shallow earthquakes, which apparently this was a shallow earthquake. Explain to us in terms of what kind of -- does it make it more devastating when the epicenter is shallow rather than deep?

BRANDON MILLER, CNN SUPERVISING METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. This would be considered a shallow quake only about 10 to 15, you know, 17 kilometers deep. Now, that may sound deep under your feet, but you have -- you know, you have to think the Earth goes hundreds and hundreds of kilometers, even just the crust of the Earth is very deep.

I think I would say we would consider a shallow earthquake anything that's 50 kilometers or so or less. And so this being only 17. You know, they don't come too much shallower than that. And so, if you just picture, you know, if you were to have something just underneath your feet, you know, shaking, that's going to be much more than if you had, say, seven or eight mattresses under your feet and shaking, it would, you know, cushion that -- those blows.

And we don't have that in this situation. Only 17 kilometers instead of, you know, some earthquakes we see, some strong earthquakes are 400, 500, 600 kilometers deep. And people don't even feel them. Even, I mean, may be right underneath their feet, but it's 600 kilometers below their feet. And so they're not going to feel that earthquake shake as violently.

But when it's only 10, 15 kilometers deep, there's just not as many mattresses to cushion that blow between your feet and it's going to shake, it's going to shake violently. And that's where you see buildings come down, even buildings that can be well made unless they're built specifically to handle large shaking earthquakes like you have in parts of Japan and California. Certainly, there's not going to be many structures like that here in southern Turkey.

[23:15:04]

So, yes, shallow is definitely deadlier when it comes to earthquakes.

HARRAK: And Brandon, what makes this particular area, this part of the world, so susceptible to these types of devastating, catastrophic earthquakes?

MILLER: Yes, so it is tectonically, as we call it, active zone. There's a number of fault lines that come together in this area. You know, the Eurasian plate, the African plate sort of meet in this area. So Turkey certainly sees a good number of strong earthquakes.

I looked a little bit ago and I think I counted seven earthquakes of 7.0 or greater magnitude in the last 25 years. Some of those have been quite significant earthquakes, you know, for the population. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like any of them have been stronger than this one or even as strong as this one being 7.8.

Looks to be from the records I was looking at, the strongest earthquake in 100 years or more of record keeping to strike Turkey. So, no, they're not a stranger in the country to earthquakes and strong earthquakes, but this one certainly seems to be, you know, the strongest in at least some time.

HARRAK: And sadly, Brandon, we're now getting reports that at least 42 people have died and 200 others injured in Syria after that earthquake hit southern Turkey.

MILLER: Yes. I'm glad you brought that up. You know, we're talking a lot about Turkey because that's where the epicenter of this quake was, but the -- you know, especially a quake of this magnitude and in this part of the world, the shaking goes on for a long way.

And I'm looking at the map now, northern Syria, in Aleppo, they felt shaking equivalent to about a 6 -- between a 6 and a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. So that's significant shaking that they're going to have in northern Syria as well.

All the way down to Lebanon, it was around a 4 to a 4.5 is the equivalency of the magnitude shaking that they felt. So, you know, we're talking a lot about Turkey because that's where the epicenter shows up, you know, on the map. And certainly, as you get closer to that epicenter, the shaking is greater. That's where you're feeling the 7.5 and greater shaking.

But there along that border with Syria, in northern Syria, that was a very strong shaking as well. And you may even have some more vulnerable structures there as well. You know, people that, you know, are not as well equipped as maybe some of the larger cities elsewhere to handle the shaking of an earthquake of this magnitude.

So, yes, even though you may be 100, 200, 300 kilometers away from the epicenter, you were still feeling pretty violent shaking.

HARRAK: Yes. And, obviously, we're expecting lots of aftershocks and, you know, potentially a humanitarian crisis in the areas affected. A very densely populated area of the world.

MILLER: It is. You know, there's a number of cities close by. Another thing that we'll be talking about, especially in the coming days, you know, is the weather in this situation. You know, it's wintertime, it's early February, it's one of the coldest parts of the year, but it's even colder than normal right now.

They're seeing a bit of a cold snap there, even some snow in the forecast. And some places in southern Turkey, northern Syria have already seen some snow, which is fairly unusual for these areas. You know, so if you have lost power, no electricity, no way to heat up, you know, if you're even lucky enough to have a home or a structure to reside in, you know, it's even worse if you're out on the streets.

Temperatures are around freezing to a couple of degrees, below freezing at night, and some rain and snow as well. So really can take matters from bad to worse when you add in the weather.

HARRAK: And Brandon, Turkey, we understand, has asked for international help. What would Turkey most need right now?

MILLER: Certainly, you know, right now, they need everything that they can do for first responders. You know, things to -- like earth movers and large equipment to, you know, move buildings that had fallen. And after that, you can start to look more towards the food, the water, the, you know, the basic necessities that you need to live.

Tents are going to be huge in a situation like this. And, you know, jackets and things to get people help with the elements certainly is something that is going to be needed.

[23:20:05]

But, you know, immediately, they're going to need from their closest, you know, neighbors to bring in equipment from, you know, some of the bigger cities in Turkey, you know, may already be mobilizing to come in to help move.

When you see pictures like we've been seeing on the air already, just as daylight is starting to come, you know, I think we're going to see a lot more of this. Certainly, you know, to move that type and find people who may be buried in that rubble. And, you know, money is another thing.

The initial model from the USGS that they put out after big earthquakes like this, it takes into account the shaking from the earthquake, how shallow it was, the amount of people and structures and cities close by and it will kind of spit out what the model thinks the damage will be.

And right now, I'm pulling it up, it estimates a most likely range of around $1 to $10 billion, in U.S. dollar equivalent for economic losses. So that's a, you know, that's a lot of money. That's -- these type of events require national and international level responses when you get economic losses, you know, that high.

HARRAK: Brandon Miller. Brandon, thank you so very much. I greatly appreciate you and we'll check in with you soon again. Just a little recap for you for viewers just joining us, at least 17 people, I believe, to have been killed in Turkey when a strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country's south in the early hours of Monday.

It has toppled buildings and has sent people running into the streets as aftershocks were felt across the region. You're watching CNN. We'll be right back.

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[23:26:00]

HARRAK: Returning now to our breaking news, a major earthquake has struck southern Turkey, leaving death and destruction across the region. Officials say at least 17 people have been killed in Turkey and 42 in Syria. Dozens of buildings have collapsed and search and rescue operations are underway.

You see a survivor now being pulled from the rubble here. Turkey's Disaster Ministry is calling for international assistance. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 7.8 and was centered in the southern Gaziantep province. Several strong aftershocks followed.

U.S. officials say the suspected Chinese spy balloon became a much more serious concern last week when it was clear it would fly over the continental U.S. Days before it was shot down off the South Carolina coast, it was spotted around Alaska, where similar balloons have been seen in the past.

But when this balloon began drifting toward the mainland U.S., officials say they realized it was a far different situation, which required President Biden's attention, and he ultimately ordered the military to shoot it down once it was safe to do so. Naval authorities are now trying to recover the balloon's debris.

Earlier, CNN saw them unloading objects from boats in South Carolina, but didn't confirm what they were doing.

Nearby, a resident also filmed uniformed men inspecting possible debris on a boat. However, CNN can't confirm that it came directly from the balloon.

And CNN's Alex Marquardt has more on the U.S. response to the balloon. ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We are now learning more about how and when President Joe Biden was informed about the suspected Chinese spy balloon crossing the United States and his decision to eventually shoot it down on Saturday. Biden was first told about the balloon on Tuesday, four days before it was eventually shot down, and three days after it first entered U.S. airspace in Alaska.

Now, after asking for military options, Biden was advised to not shoot it down over land because of the harm that the debris could cause. He was eager to shoot it down, we're told, in a way that was not only safe for people, but to try to preserve as much of the equipment on board as possible.

Now, as soon as it flew out over the water off of South Carolina on Saturday, those F-22 jets flew up and shot it down. The administration will now face fierce questioning as early as Tuesday from members of Congress from the so-called Gang of Eight, that's the leaders of both Houses of Congress from both parties, as well as the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

They may ask about past instances of Chinese balloons over the U.S. We're told there were at least four others that flew over the continental United States in the past few years, including, according to Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, over or near Texas and Florida.

And while Republicans blast Biden for not taking action sooner, former President Donald Trump denied that it happened while he was in office. But the Pentagon now says there were at least three times that it did.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, New York.

HARRAK: Earlier, CNN spoke with former U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, about the Chinese balloon. He was asked for his thoughts on what it was used for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY LOCKE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: Obviously, it was for surveillance and maybe it's -- you know, they send these balloons normally on the periphery of countries and borders and kind of peek in just as we fly very close to the borders of China and using high level aircraft, try to take a peek as to what's going on.

But we really rely on satellites and all countries do. And, you know, we're taking a peek at what's happening in Iran. We're taking a peek at North Korea. We're taking peaks into China as well as Russia, and the Chinese are doing the same. So why they're using these balloons makes absolutely no sense.

[23:30:00]

But it caused a huge political blunder, forcing the cancelation of Secretary of State Blinken's visit.

The trip had to be canceled, and it was a message to Beijing that if you're going to spy, use your high altitude satellites the way that we're spying on them. Don't send balloons that are visible to the American people over our territory and that we will respond with force.

We had to shoot it down, and we had to tell the American public. Now we're going to be able to collect some of the evidence and some of the actual surveillance equipment, and we'll be able to present to the world that, hey, this is not just a weather balloon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Our thanks to Gary Locke for his analysis there.

Just ahead, an update on our breaking news. Dozens of people are dead in both Turkey and Syria after a major earthquake hit the region overnight. We'll have a live report from Istanbul when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN Newsroom.

Our check of our top story at this hour, dozens of people are dead after a major earthquake in southern Turkey near the border with Syria. Syrian state media report at least 42 people have died in Syria and 200 others are injured. This at least as -- at least 17 people are reported dead on the Turkish side of the border.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the seven 7.8 magnitude quake was centered east of Nurdagi in Turkey's Gaziantep province. At least eight very strong aftershocks were reported shortly after the first quake.

[23:35:15]

Let's go back to our Jomana Karadsheh, who is covering this breaking story for you. Jomana, I understand the Turkish authorities have declared a level for alarm. What does that mean?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that means that this is an emergency where they are going to be requesting support from international -- from the international community, from countries, from organizations that would be helping them deal with the aftermath of this devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has impacted, Laila, at least 10 provinces in southern Turkey.

We are, in the past hour or so, starting to hear from governor after governor, local authorities in different provinces reporting casualty figures from their own areas, as well as the damaged that has been left by this earthquake. And so far, from our own count, more than 40 people have been killed and hundreds others injured, according to the governors of at least three provinces so far reporting these deaths and injuries.

In one province alone in Malatya, we're getting reports of at least 23 people killed, according to the governor there. 420 people injured, 140 buildings destroyed. And, you know, as we mentioned earlier, the Turkish authority is saying their top priority right now, of course, is the search and rescue operation.

They are mobilizing all their resources to deal with this search and rescue operation. It's 7:30 in the morning here. It's been just over three hours since this earthquake hit. And already, we are seeing an indication of how devastating this earthquake has been.

You know, this country is no stranger to earthquakes. It has dealt with many major devastating earthquakes over the years. But this certainly seems to be on a scale that hasn't been seen by this country in decades. And you've got the Interior Minister saying level four emergency and they are going to be reaching out for international support in dealing with this.

While the search and rescue obviously is their top priority, it is going to be very challenging for them to deal with the situation in the -- we're in the middle of a winter storm that has hit the country, especially in the southern part of Turkey over the past few days. Snow, really cold weather, freezing temperatures.

And, you know, this is a time where people are outdoors, people woken up by the earthquake, people caught in the middle of the night essentially in this earthquake. And authorities telling people not to panic, as is always the case with these earthquakes. Leave your building, stay outdoors.

But again, this is a very, very challenging time for authorities to try and provide shelter and support for people impacted across at least 10 provinces so far. And, you know, Laila, as we were discussing earlier, this was so powerful that it was felt across this region, countries from Jordan to Lebanon, Iraq, all reporting feeling that 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

But also we are starting to get reports from neighboring Syria in several cities have also been impacted. We are hearing from the Syrian regime in their regime-controlled areas, as well as the rescue group, the Syrian Civil Defense, the White Helmets that is -- that provides support in rebel held areas of northern Syria, all reporting some extensive damage there as well, casualty figures that are continuing to rise.

So far we're hearing from Syrian state media reporting at least 42 people dead, more than 200 injured. And they're reporting impact in Aleppo, Hama, Latakia. We're hearing from the White Helmets saying that Idlib Province as well, that there's -- there -- they say dozens of casualties so far and they're saying hundreds of people trapped underneath the rubble.

So this early hours still, Laila, and this seems to be a really devastating earthquake here in Turkey as well as in neighboring Syria. Of course, that in no way is equipped to deal with this sort of natural disaster.

HARRAK: And as you have been reporting so extensively since this story broke, Jomana, the emergency response, of course, Turkey mobilizing everything that it has

[23:40:09]

But in terms of accessing the affected areas, do we know how easy or how difficult it is for these disaster teams to access the impact region?

KARADSHEH: And this is what we're waiting to hear from the country's Disaster Management and Emergency Management Agency and from the Turkish government, because we are talking about a massive area that has been impacted by this earthquake. So you've obviously got cities that are, you know, populated, cities in these areas, but again, you've got remote areas, you've got villages.

We don't know the extent of the damage across this area yet still starting to get these reports coming in slowly. Of course, we are probably going to get a better idea as daylight -- in the daylight hours in the next 20 minutes or so, the extent of this damage. But so far, Laila, it is not looking good.

We are seeing these pictures emerging across Turkish state media and broadcasters here, city after city, province after province that has been hit and impacted by this devastating quake. And, of course, the aftershocks, also so powerful that have followed 6.7 being the strongest aftershock that was reported, felt by our colleague Eyad Kourdi, as we -- you spoke to him earlier in the city of Gaziantep.

So we'll have to wait and see in the coming hours and days the real extent of what appears to be a truly devastating earthquake. This is a country that has dealt with so many earthquakes over the years. This is a country that has lost tens of thousands of people to devastating earthquakes in the past. And this seems to be the strongest from our own records to have hit the country in more than 100 years.

So we'll have to wait and see what authorities are saying. But obviously, they are mobilizing everything they've got to deal with the emergency situation across so many parts of southeastern Turkey right now as they try to pull people out of the rubble, as they try to deal with the search and rescue operation in the middle of a winter storm, as well as try and provide people with the medical support they're going to need.

We've heard from the Turkish Red Crescent saying that they are calling for more blood donations from across the country to try and deliver it to the disaster zone in the southern part of the country. They also are going to have to deal with providing shelter for so many people who have been impacted. As you can imagine, cities and towns across 10 provinces that have been hit by this -- that have been impacted by this earthquake. Laila?

HARRAK: Jomana Karadsheh there reporting on that massive earthquake in Turkey that has been felt in at least three countries. For now, thanks so much.

Let's speak now with Zhigang Peng, a Professor of Geophysics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Professor, thank you for joining us again. As you've heard, their Jomana report, I mean, this is an earthquake that has been felt across the region and beyond.

ZHIGANG PENG, PROFESSOR OF GEOPHYSICS, GEORGIA TECH: Yes, that's correct. As you just mentioned, that the size of the event of magnitude 7.8 probably means that it has been widely felt not only in Turkey and neighboring country, but likely in many other places in Middle East as well.

HARRAK: And so we understand -- we spoke earlier with one of your colleagues, and he was explaining that this particular 7.8 magnitude quake was very shallow and therefore the effects of it are more devastating.

PENG: Yes, that's correct. So this type of event, as you probably know, that it's called strikes leap events. So those are the events where the kind of two plate are slight pass along each other. Because of that, most of times those events are shallow. And there's two consequences for that.

Being shallow means that if we felt more strongly, especially if you are close to the epicenter region. But in addition to that, it also means that the fourth rupture that the segment that broke during this event could be larger than sometimes some of the other type of events.

And turns out that I -- I just got some information from one of my colleagues, his name is Jun Juan (ph) from China, he was actually utilizing some seismic station in Alaska, yes, in the United States. And he did some sort of complicated but very rapid analysis based on his, you know, premiere result. And it appears that the main event may have broke about up to 300 kilometers.

[23:45:17]

And this is also being confirmed or somewhat supported by the aftershocks we have seen so far, based on USGS. So this event is again, shallow event, but it's also a very elongated event. And based on what we've seen, the epicenter is near the border between Turkey and Syria. But the main event may have broken more or less -- more towards the northeast direction, further inland towards Turkey and other regions.

So I guess, one thing perhaps just to be kind of watch out or pay special attention is not only just at the center region, that's where most likely, you know, resource will be pointing to, but perhaps more looking at other regions, especially in the northeast region where we have so many aftershocks going on right now.

HARRAK: And Professor, we understand there's been a number of aftershocks that shook the area, the affected area. And although they are not as strong as the 7.8 -- original 7.8 quake, I mean, they're still very significant.

PENG: Yes, absolutely. Like you just mentioned that I guess the largest one so far is magnitude 6.7. We probably expect, you know, something perhaps mostly smaller events in the coming days to weeks. However, as you can expect that, you know, a region just had a magnitude 7.8 and there will be likely people trapped in, you know, collapsed buildings or buildings that have been damaged.

So sometimes if you followed by smaller event, even though it's not as big as the main event, it may sometimes produce additional damages and perhaps to the -- would create some impact to the rescue effect as well.

HARRAK: Professor Zhigang Peng, thank you again for joining us.

PENG: Sure, you're welcome.

HARRAK: And we're going to take a very short break and we'll be right back.

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[23:50:27]

HARRAK: Recapping another big story this hour, the U.S. military says it is searching for the debris of the suspected Chinese spy balloon after it was shot down over the weekend. Earlier, CNN spotted naval authorities unloading objects from boats close to the site where the balloon went down. And nearby, a resident filmed uniformed men inspecting white material on a boat, but CNN can't confirm if it was debris.

U.S. officials believe the Chinese balloon was used for surveillance, and they grew concerned when it moved toward the mainland U.S. and hovered over missile sites. Beijing insists it was a civilian research missile that drifted off course. And we'll be right back.

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HARRAK: Let's get you the latest now on our breaking news, the powerful earthquake that has left death and destruction in Turkey and Syria. Dozens of deaths have been reported in the two countries and multiple buildings have collapsed. Turkey's government has dispatched search and rescue teams and is calling for international assistance.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.8 magnitude quake was centered in Turkey's southern Gaziantep province. Several strong aftershocks followed. And our meteorologist say, more strong aftershocks are likely in the hours and days to come. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his best wishes to those affected and says emergency personnel are on alert to assist.

And this major earthquake has been felt in at least four countries, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. That wraps up this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Laila Harrak. Do stay with us for more after the short break.

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