Footage shows moment earthquake topples buildings in Turkey

Heart-stopping footage released Sunday shows the moment petrified residents of one city in Turkey raced down a street as buildings toppled following earthquakes that rocked the country nearly a week ago.

Security video released by the Diyarbakir Police Department revealed the frightening scenes in the early morning of Jan. 6, when a quake ravaged southeast Turkey.

In one video, people on the street can be seen fleeing from falling buildings as smoke engulfed the wreckage — and a couple of drivers tried to back their cars toward safety.

Other footage shows tall buildings vibrate before some quickly caved in and collapsed to the ground in a heap of debris.

Parts of Turkey and northern Syria were devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake followed hours later by a 7.5 earthquake that has killed more than 33,000 so far, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. CNN and NBC on Sunday reported the death count has exceeded 34,000.

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Another 80,000 victims have suffered injuries from what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the “disaster of the century.”

More than a million people have been displaced and are living in temporary shelters.

About 130 people have been arrested for allegedly being involved in shoddy construction work on collapsed buildings, though construction codes that meet current earthquake engineering standards were rarely enforced. 

With Post wires