ANKARA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck central Turkey on early Monday at a depth of 10 km, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) pegged the quake at 7.4 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.