Illustration photo – A Turkish rescue worker in one of the buildings damaged by the earthquake in Antakya, Turkey on February 12, 2023.
Ankara – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit the Turkey-Syria border this evening. This is reported by the European Seismological Center EMSC. In addition to Syria and Turkey, tremors were also felt in Lebanon and Egypt. According to Reuters, further damage is visible in the city of Antakya, where many buildings collapsed in early February. Turkish television NTV reported that some damaged buildings in the area collapsed, but data on possible injuries or deaths is not yet available. Authorities urged residents of the affected area not to approach damaged buildings.
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The epicenter of today's earthquake was near the city of Samandag in Hatay province, which was heavily damaged by the tremors on Monday, February 6. At that time, two strong earthquakes hit the area, 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. Samandag is located in the southernmost tip of Turkey, about 15 kilometers from the Syrian border. According to the DPA agency, several houses also collapsed in the vicinity of the northern Syrian city of Halab (Aleppo).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the province of Hatay 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, according to a statement from the Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) today. Since Saturday, it has not been possible to pull anyone alive from the ruins.
According to the authorities, over 41,000 people have died in the earthquakes of the week before last in Turkey, and in Syria, according to the UN estimate, around 6,000.
According to Reuters in Around one million people were left homeless in Turkey, and another two million people left the affected regions. In total, 13 million people lived in the affected area.
