A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep in southern Turkey on Monday, the US Geological Service said.

The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometres (11 miles), AFP reported.

The tremor had an epicenter 30 kilometers west northwest off the town of Gaziantep and 114 kilometers north-northwest of Aleppo, Syria, according to a report from GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority pegged the quake near the southern city of Kahramanmaras.

There was damage to buildings and people were gathered out on snowy streets, according to images on state broadcaster TRT.

The earthquake lasted about a minute and shattered windows, according to a Reuters witness.

The area is regularly hit by strong earthquakes.