A soldier carries a man after he was injured in the latest earthquake in Hatay, Turkey on February 20, 2023.
Ankara – At least three people died after today's strong earthquake in the south of Turkey, over 200 were injured, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said. According to the European Seismological Center EMSC, the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4, and according to an AFP reporter, the tremors were also clearly felt in the Syrian Aleppo (Aleppo), where they caused panic. The earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria a fortnight after tremors killed over 47,000 people in the region.
Advertisement'; }
Rescuers are searching the rubble of three houses in Hatay province, where at least five people are believed to have lived, according to Soylu. Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş had previously said that several people were under the rubble of newly collapsed parts of buildings. Some people on the spot who were approached by reporters from foreign agencies are also talking about the fall of parts of houses. The authorities canceled the tsunami warning on the Turkish coast shortly after the announcement.
According to the Syrian state agency SANA, at least six people were taken to hospital in Halab after being injured by debris from damaged buildings. The Syrian NGO White Helmets is also talking about several injuries in areas under the control of anti-government rebels.
The epicenter of today's tremors was in Hatay province. The 6.4 and 5.8-magnitude tremors occurred after 18:00 CET. This province was already heavily damaged by the earthquakes of Monday, February 6, followed by many thousands of smaller earthquakes. Their strength usually did not exceed five degrees. The strength of the two devastating earthquakes from the beginning of February was 7.7 and 7.6 degrees. The epicenter is located in the southernmost tip of Turkey, approximately 15 kilometers from the Syrian border.
In addition to Syria and Turkey, tremors were also felt in Lebanon and Egypt.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Hatay province today , who promised the locals a quick reconstruction. According to him, over 100,000 people were rescued from the ruins in the last 14 days. Rescue workers were working on about 40 buildings in the last two worst-hit provinces today, according to a statement from the disaster management agency AFAD. Since Saturday, no one has been pulled alive from the rubble.
According to the authorities, over 41,000 people were killed in Turkey after the tremors of the week before last, and roughly 6,000 in Syria, according to the UN estimate.
The Reuters agency reported, that approximately one million people remained homeless in Turkey, another two million people left the affected regions. In total, 13 million people lived in the affected area.
