- According to the Turkish civil protection authority Afad, two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 and 5.8 shook the province of Hatay on Monday evening.
- The earthquakes occurred three minutes apart.
- At least three people have been killed and more than 200 injured in Turkey.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Turkish province of Hatay, according to the Kandilli earthquake station in Istanbul. Turkey’s Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu warned people not to go indoors again. So far there have been 26 aftershocks.
The broadcaster CNN Türk reported that people ran into the streets in panic, and that the electricity in Hatay had failed. Rescue workers in the city of Antakya are working to free three people trapped under the rubble, according to the state-run Anadolu News Agency.
Legend:
The Turkish Hatay was shaken by severe earthquakes at the beginning of February. (Picture from February 15, 2023)
Keystone/EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
According to media reports, the quake was also felt in the surrounding provinces of Turkey as well as in northern Syria, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon. In several places near the city of Aleppo, houses collapsed again, said a spokeswoman for the aid organization SAMS.
Among them is the small town of Djindiris, which was severely hit by the earthquake two weeks ago. “Many people have left their homes and are roaming the streets in fear that more (earthquakes) will follow,” including in the Syrian capital Damascus, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) for the region said on Twitter.