Pope Francis is sending up prayers for those involved in the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that wracked southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria on Feb. 6.

“I remain close with all my heart to the people affected by the earthquake in #Türkiye and #Syria,” he said in a recent tweet. “I continue to pray for those who have lost their lives, as well as the injured, family members, and rescuers. May our concrete aid sustain them in the midst of this appalling tragedy.”

The earthquake could be felt in distant regions such as Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the Palestinian territories; a recent report from Time said.

A temblor’s magnitude (which indicates its size and severity), depth (the shallower the quake, the more damaging) and closeness to populated areas significantly affect how much damage it might inflict; Time said. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 or above on the Richter scale can inflict significant damage, while earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or less can go unnoticed. A quake that registers 8.0 or higher can destroy entire communities.

On Feb. 7, the death toll had already topped 5,000, a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) report said. As of Tuesday, Reuters reported that number had climbed to more than 40,000.

After hours of searching, the body of Father Imad Daher, a priest from the Greek Melkite Catholic Parish of Our Lady, was discovered among the many fatalities; a Feb. 6 Catholic News Agency (CNA) report said. The humanitarian organization Aid to the Church in Need also reported that numerous towns and cities with sizable Christian populations, including Aleppo, Homs, Lattakia and Hama, sustained substantial damage.

"Our local partners have an urgent need of support, especially in areas of northern Syria where hundreds of thousands of people live in simple refuges and now, with the earthquakes, are even more defenseless," Oliver Hochedez, head of the Malteser International emergency response department, said in the USCCB report. "In the hospitals run by our partner organizations the number of injured arriving increases hour by hour. We must provide help rapidly.”

The USCCB report added that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state for the Vatican, sent telegrams to the Vatican's ambassadors in Turkey and Syria expressing the pope's profound sadness over the "huge loss of life" brought on by the tragic event.