A 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted southeast Turkey early on Monday morning and was felt throughout the Middle East. According to accounts, several buildings were destroyed by the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake's epicentre was approximately 33 kilometres (20 miles) from the provincial seat and principal city of Gaziantep. It was around 26 kilometres (16 miles) from Nurdagi.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, its centre was 18 kilometres (11 miles) deep. Ten minutes later, a 6.7-magnitude aftershock occurred.

The Turkish Agency for Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) reported that the magnitude 7.4 earthquake was centred in the town of Pazarcik in the province of Kahramanmaras.

HaberTurk television claimed that several buildings collapsed in the nearby provinces of Malatya, Diyarbakir, and Malatya. No immediate reports of casualties were available.

The earthquake also impacted Lebanon and Syria.

State-run media in Syria said that buildings in the cities of Aleppo and Hama collapsed.

According to Syrian civil Defense, several structures have collapsed in the rebel-held northwest of Syria, which borders Turkey.

In Damascus, buildings trembled, and many people fled to the streets out of panic.

The earthquake shocked Lebanese citizens from their sleep and shook structures for around forty seconds. Many Beirut residents abandoned their homes and took to the streets or their vehicles to flee the buildings.

There were no initial reports of significant damage or fatalities in any nation.

Earthquakes regularly affect Turkey due to its location on major fault lines.

In 1999, a series of violent earthquakes ravaged the northwest of Turkey, claiming the lives of approximately 18,000.