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Turkey hit by new 6.4 magnitude earthquake two weeks after disaster

The earthquake just after 8pm on Monday was followed by a magnitude 5.8 tremor
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

19.54 20 Feb 2023


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Turkey hit by new 6.4 magnitud...

Turkey hit by new 6.4 magnitude earthquake two weeks after disaster

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

19.54 20 Feb 2023


Share this article


A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the Turkey-Syria border two weeks after a massive quake hit the same region, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has said.

Turkey's AFAD disaster management agency said the earthquake was centered around the town of Defne in the country's Hatay province, which was devastated by a huge 7.8 magnitude tremor this month.

The earthquake on Monday was followed by a magnitude 5.8 tremor.

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Luftu Savas, the mayor of Turkey's Hatay province, said there have been reports of people under rubble after the latest quake.

Mr Savas added that there is no power in the town of Samandagi.

The location of the latest earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border The location of the latest earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border. Picture by: USGS

The USGS said the earthquake struck at a depth of 10km at about 8:04pm local time (5:04pm Irish time).

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said the quake was also felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.

Two witnesses told Reuters it caused further damage to buildings in central Antakya, the capital of Hatay province.

Other witnesses said Turkish rescue teams were "running around" after the latest quake, checking people were unharmed.

'I thought the earth was going to split'

NTV television said it caused some damaged buildings to collapse, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Muna Al-Omar, a resident, said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit.

"I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet," she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.

"Is there going to be another aftershock?" she asked.

The latest earthquake came after news on Saturday that three members of one family - a mother, father and 12-year-old boy - were taken from a collapsed building after 12 days under rubble.

The boy later died.

Death toll

Some media outlets in Syria's Idlib and Aleppo regions that were badly affected by the earthquake on Monday are reporting that buildings have collapsed and that electricity and internet services have been interrupted in parts of the region.

The media outlets said many people fled their homes and are now gathering in open areas.

The Turkish disaster management agency AFAD has raised the number of confirmed fatalities from the earthquake on February 6th in Turkey to 41,156.

More than one million people have been left homeless.

The authorities have also recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks.

Search and rescue operations for survivors have been called off in most of the quake zone, but AFAD chief Yunus Sezer told reporters that search teams were pressing ahead with their efforts in more than a dozen collapsed buildings - most of them in the hardest-hit province of Hatay.

Reporting by: IRN

Main image: A member of Turkey's AFAD disaster management agency is seen on February 7th 2023 file photo. Picture by: MURAT İDİKUT / Alamy Stock Photo

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AFAD Antakya Earthquake Hatay Luftu Savas Tremor Turkey Turkey-Syria Border US Geological Survey

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