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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, killing more than 500 people and injuring hundreds as buildings collapsed across the region, triggering searches for survivors in the rubble.

The quake, which hit early on Monday morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

Turkey's vice president Fuat Oktay said 284 people had been killed and 2323 people were injured, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

In Syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of civil war, a government health official said more than 237 people had been killed and some 600 injured, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings tumbled down.

In the Syrian rebel-held northwest, a rescue service said dozens had been killed.

Turkish state broadcaster RTR showed rescue workers in Osmaniye province using a blanket to carry an injured man out of a collapsed four-storey building and putting him in an ambulance. He was the fifth to be pulled from the rubble, it said.

Footage on broadcaster CNNTurk showed the historic Gaziantep Castle was severely damaged.

President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with the governors of eight affected provinces to gather information on the situation and rescue efforts, his office said in a statement.

Footage from the Syrian border town of Azaz - an area held by opposition forces - showed a rescue worker carrying a toddler from a damaged building.

"The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organisation said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to another town about five kilometres from the Turkish border.

Homes were "totally destroyed", said the rescuer on the clip, which showed a street strewn with rubble.

President Bashar al-Assad was holding an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the next steps, his office said.

Syrian state television showed footage of rescue teams searching for survivors in heavy rain and sleet. Health officials urged the public to help take the injured to emergency rooms.

"Wounded people are still arriving in waves," Aleppo's health director, Ziad Hage Taha, told Reuters by telephone.

The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," he said.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at a depth of 17.9km. It reported a series of earthquakes, one of 6.7 magnitude.

The region straddles seismic fault lines.

It is the most severe quake in Turkey since 1999 when a similar magnitude quake devastated Izmit and the heavily populated eastern Marmara Sea region near Istanbul, killing more than 17,000.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350km to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.

"Our primary job is to carry out the search and rescue work and to do that all our teams are on alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460km northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.

"The earthquake struck in a region that we feared. There is serious widespread damage," Kerem Kinik, the chief of the Turkish Red Crescent relief agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul. In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

© RAW 2023

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake has struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, killing about 200 people as buildings collapsed across the snowy region, and triggering a search for survivors trapped in rubble.

The quake, which hit in early on Monday morning, was also felt in Cyprus and Lebanon.

Turkey's disaster agency said 76 people had been killed, and 440 hurt, as authorities scrambled rescue teams and supply aircraft to the affected area, while declaring a "level 4 alarm" that calls for international assistance.

President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with the governors of eight affected provinces to gather information on the situation and rescue efforts, his office said in a statement.

Syrian state media said more than 100 people were killed and dozens injured there, most in the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia, where numerous buildings had been brought down.

"The situation is very tragic, tens of buildings have collapsed in the city of Salqin," a member of the White Helmets rescue organisation said in a video clip on Twitter, referring to a town about five kilometres from the Turkish border.

The rescuer on the clip, which showed a rubble-strewn street, said homes were "totally destroyed".

Many buildings in the region had already suffered damage in fighting during Syria's nearly 12-year-long civil war.

People in Damascus, and in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli, ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed, witnesses said.

The United States was "profoundly concerned" about the quake in Turkey and Syria and was monitoring events closely, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Twitter.

"I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance," he said.

The region straddles seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.

The tremor lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness in Diyarbakir, 350km to the east, where a security official said at least 17 buildings collapsed.

Authorities said 16 structures collapsed in Sanliurfa and 34 in Osmaniye.

Broadcasters TRT and Haberturk showed footage of people picking through building wreckage, moving stretchers and seeking survivors in the city of Kahramanmaras, where it was still dark.

"Our primary job is to carry out the search and rescue work and to do that all our teams are on alert," Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences said the quake struck at a depth of 10km, while the EMSC monitoring service said it was assessing the risk of a tsunami.

The US Geological Survey reported a series of further earthquakes following the initial tremor, which it put at a magnitude of 7.8. There was a quake measuring 6.7 in Gaziantep and another of 5.6 in the city's Nurdag area.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority put the magnitude of the quake at 7.4 near Kahramanmaras and the larger city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border.

Tremors were also felt in the Turkish capital of Ankara, 460km northwest of the epicentre, and in Cyprus, where police reported no damage.

"The earthquake struck in a region that we feared. There is serious widespread damage," Kerem Kinik, the chief of the Turkish Red Crescent relief agency, told Haberturk, issuing an appeal for blood donations.

Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul. In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

© RAW 2023

Pop superstar Beyonce has broken the record for most career wins at music's Grammy awards but lost again in the prestigious album of the year category, this time to British singer Harry Styles.

Beyonce added four Grammys to her collection, bringing her lifetime total to 32 and surpassing the tally of late classical conductor Georg Solti.

Despite her success through the years, the 41-year-old Break My Soul singer has never claimed the best album trophy. Styles took home that honour on Sunday for Harry's House.

"I've been so inspired by every artist in this category," a surprised Styles said as he accepted the award.

"On nights like tonight, it's obviously so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as best in music."

Grammy voters spread the top awards among several artists.

Lizzo's upbeat About Damn Time won record of the year.

She dedicated the award to Prince, saying the late artist had inspired her to make positive music. Lizzo also saluted Beyonce and recalled how she skipped out of school in fifth grade to see the Halo singer in concert.

"You clearly are the artist of our lives," Lizzo said.

Blues singer Bonnie Raitt's Just Like That, about an organ donor, earned Song of the Year.

Styles triumphed over a formidable, wide-ranging field that included Beyonce, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, Lizzo, British vocalist Adele and disco-era Swedish hitmaker ABBA.

Beyonce took the stage as she secured the all-time Grammy record with her award for best dance/electronic album for Renaissance.

"I am trying not to be too emotional. I am trying just to receive this night," Beyonce said.

"I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you, God."

She also thanked her family and "the queer community for your love and for inventing the genre."

Earlier, Beyonce was absent when she was named the winner of best R&B song for Cuff It. Host Trevor Noah said the singer was stuck in traffic. He later handed her the trophy at her seat in the audience.

Bad Bunny took home the award for best musica urbana album for Un Verano Sin Ti. For best rap album, Kendrick Lamar triumphed with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Honorees were chosen by about 11,000 members of the Recording Academy.

American jazz singer Samara Joy was named best new artist.

"Oh my gosh. I've been watching you all on TV for so long," she said.

"All of you are so inspiring to me."

The 'In Memoriam' section recognised the lives of Loretta Lynn, Migos rapper Takeoff and Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie with several star-studded performers paying them homage.

This year's show marked a return to Los Angeles after the COVID-19 pandemic first delayed, then forced the Grammys to move to Las Vegas last year.

© PAA 2023