At least three people have died and 700 more have been injured due to a new 6.4 earthquake of magnitude on the Richter scale that has shaken this Monday the south of Turkey and northern Syria, according to official information.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soyu has confirmed three deaths and 213 injured, to which dozens of injured in Syrian territory should be added. “Our teams have begun to review the area. After the earthquake we have received information that three fellow citizens have lost their lives, one in Anatolia, one in Defne and one in Samandag,” he explained, cited by the Turkish newspaper ‘Hürriyet’ .
Soyu has also confirmed that there are rescue operations in motion in three buildings. The minister stressed that there have been 26 replicas after the first 6.4 magnitude earthquake. “We repeat the warning. Do not enter dangerous buildings. There is a lot of movement and it can be very dangerous,” added Soyu.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights has reported 470 injured, including people who have jumped from balconies or reached by Casctes. Up to 320 injured correspond to areas controlled by the Syrian government and 150 have been counted in the northwest of the country.
In addition, damaged buildings in Jindires and Afrin would have collapsed and damage has been reported in Atarib buildings. The most affected areas are the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.
“We know that it is an independent earthquake. We have detected about twenty aftershocks after the first 6.4 earthquake. We have eight injured,” explained the Turkish vice president, Fuat Oktay, cited by the newspaper ‘Hürriyet’. Oktay has urged to get away from damaged buildings and follow the indications of the authorities and have confirmed at least eight injured people. He also stressed that this is a new earthquake, not a replica of the two weeks ago, which already accumulates more than 6,000 replicas.
The United States Geological Service (USGS) has registered the earthquake three kilometers from the city of Uzunbag, in the province of Hatay, at 20.04 local time (18.04 in peninsular Spain).
The Disaster and Emergencies Management Authority (AFAD), under the Turkish Interior Ministry, has reported two farm of 6.4 and 5.8 magnitude in Hatay separated for just three minutes.
“Our teams are on alert and respond quickly to this information. We continue to analyze the field data,” he said on Twitter, while warning that he should not get closer to damaged buildings.
The AFAD has placed citizens to stay away from the coast due to caution due to the risk of a sea level rise of up to 50 centimeters. Shortly after Tsunami’s alert has risen.
The governor of Hatay, Rahmi Dogan, has echoed the new farm, reports the Anatolia news agency. Dogan has pointed out that they are evaluating the situation.
From the province of Adana, its governor, Süleyman Elban, has assured that there has been no collapse due to these new earthquakes despite some rumors spread on social networks. In that city some patients from the Balcali University Hospital have been evacuated on stretchers.
These new earthquakes have also been able to feel in Syrian territory, specifically in cities such as Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Afrin, Azez, Jarablaus, Tel Abiad. They have also felt in Lebanon, including their capital, Beirut, in Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Egypt.
In Lebanon, the Minister of Education, Abbas Halabi, has announced the suspension of classes in all schools in the country for this Tuesday to avoid accidents and until the technical review started up after the earthquake is finished.
On February 6, two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale caused enormous damage in Turkey and Syria and have charged, so far, the life of more than 41,000 people.
