Fresh earthquake rattles Turkey, Syria just hours after first kills 1,400
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Alaina
- . February 6, 2023
- . Update: February 7, 2023 3:19 pm
Another powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Elbistan district in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province on Monday, the Turkish disaster agency announced. According to reports by the SANA news agency, fresh tremors were also felt in Latakia, Damascus, and other provinces in Syria. Details of casualties are yet to come in.
It comes just hours after a 7.8-magnitude tremor hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria at 4:17 am local time, killing more than 1,400 people in their sleep and injuring thousands of others. Hundreds are still believed to be trapped under the debris.
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In Turkey, at least 912 people are dead from the first earthquake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed, while in neighbouring Syria, at least 560 have been killed.
The quake is considered one of the region’s most powerful tremors in nearly a century. It levelled buildings, caused tremors felt as far away as Iraq, sent survivors into the snowy streets in their pyjamas, and prompted the Turkish government to issue its highest emergency alert. Rescuers were seen digging through the rubble of damaged homes with their hands.
With Turkey’s tightly-contested election on May 14, Erdogan is under intense pressure to oversee an effective response to the disaster. Russia, the EU, the US, and historic rival Greece have sent condolences and offers of help to Turkey. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also offered to provide “the necessary assistance” to the country, whose drones are helping Kyiv face the Russian offence.
Turkey is one of the most active earthquake zones in the world. A strong 7.4-magnitude quake struck the country in 1999, killing more than 17,000 people, including 1,000 in the capital Istanbul. Experts have long been raising warnings against a large tremor devastating the capital, which has allowed widespread building without safety precautions.
