Turkey Earthquake Pictures: The Day After

Search for Turkey Earthquake Survivors

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

Turkish villagers search for survivors on March 8, 2010, in Okcular, the town worst hit by the magnitude 5.9 Turkeyearthquake.

So far more than 50 aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 5.5 have rattled the region, sending panicked survivors fleeing into narrow streets, some climbing out of windows to escape crumbling buildings, the Associated Press reported.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the region's mud-brick buildings—reduced to rubble by the earthquake—were responsible for many deaths, the AP reported. Erdogan promised that the government housing agency will build quake-proof homes in the area.

Published March 8, 2010

Turkey Earthquake Survivors

Photograph from Reuters

Survivors of the Turkeyearthquake await aid in the hard-hit town of Okcular on March 8, 2010.

Earthquakes in Turkey are relatively common, as the country is bordered by two major fault lines, the North Anatolian Fault and the East Anatolian Fault.

These two faults are part of a "complex geological environment" created by the constant westward motion of the Anatolian plate, Okan Tuysuz, a professor of geology at Istanbul Technical University, told CNN. (See more about plate tectonics.)

Published March 8, 2010

Cow Killed by Turkey Earthquake

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

People stand over a dead cow near the remains of a mosque (right) in the town of Karakocan, Turkey, on March 8, 2010. The village had been devastated by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake the previous night.

In addition to toppling houses and minarets, the temblor destroyed several barns, killing farm animals, the Associated Press reported.

Published March 8, 2010

House Destroyed by Turkey Earthquake

Photograph from Reuters

People walk through a home in the village of Okcular on March 8, 2010, hours after the town was destroyed by the Turkeyearthquake.

The Turkish government has urged residents not to enter any damaged homes, as the unstable structures might topple during strong aftershocks, which could last for days, the Associated Press reported.

Published March 8, 2010