6 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured as a result of the two new earthquakes that struck the center of the "Dafna" and "Samandag" regions in Hatay (southern Turkey) on Monday evening, two weeks after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
The intensity of the new earthquake - which occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers at 20:04 Turkish time (17:04 GMT) - was 6.4 degrees on the Richter scale, and was followed by 90 aftershocks, one of which had a magnitude of 5.8 degrees, and the impact of the earthquake extended to northern Syria, while It was felt by the inhabitants of Lebanon, Cyprus, Palestine and Jordan.
The governor of Hatay announced that the victims of the two earthquakes that struck the state yesterday evening had risen to 6 dead and about 300 injured, while Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that 294 people had been injured, including 18 in critical condition.
On a parallel line, at least 150 people were injured in Aleppo Governorate (northwestern Syria), according to what the "White Helmets" organization announced, the civil defense in areas outside the control of Damascus, while the Syrian Civil Defense reported that 190 people were injured.
For its part, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said that the residents of the cities of Hatay, Gaziantep, Mersin, Adana, Antalya and Kahramanmaraş felt the earthquake, and citizens of several cities were seen taking to the streets for fear of damage to buildings from the effects of the earthquakes.
Building collapses, roads and bridges damaged
In Antakya (the largest city in Hatay state), buildings damaged by the February 6 earthquake collapsed, including the headquarters of the provincial authorities. Two hospitals in the province were evacuated on Monday evening, and patients were placed in a camp.
The earthquake also damaged some roads and bridges in the center of the state and its districts, as cracks and cracks occurred in bridges on the Orontes River in the city of Antioch, and roads in Turkmenbashi Street and Uzun-Charchi area in the city.
The security forces closed the damaged bridges and roads, and placed elements in those areas for the safety of the citizens, while Turkish Vice President Fuad Oktay urged the citizens not to go to the damaged buildings.
In a related context, the Turkish authorities said that Bayraktar drones support search and rescue efforts and monitor potential damage after the two new earthquakes on Monday evening, while AFAD announced sending 6,000 tents at night to the region for the citizens, and confirmed the continuation of sending tents throughout the day by air and land.
Hatay'da depremlerde hasar goren ve yıkılan binalar, Bayraktar TB2 İHA ile denetlendi.
pic.twitter.com/7q3syP7k4w
— TRT HABER (@trthaber) February 21, 2023
Northern Syria
In northwestern Syria, the Syrian Civil Defense said that most of the injuries occurred due to falling stones or jumping from tall buildings and stampeding, and the collapse of two cracked uninhabited buildings, the minaret of a mosque in Jenderes (north of Aleppo), and a number of cracked buildings in Khirbat al-Joz, al-Hamziyeh, al-Mandal, al-Zouf and Beit Soufan. (Western Idlib) without any injuries reported.
The walls and balconies of houses also collapsed in several cities and towns in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.
On the impact of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria and the aftershocks on Monday evening, the people in the city of Afrin rushed to the roads and public squares, fearing new aftershocks.
In a related context, the Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said that the new terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria led to the destruction of more buildings, which caused more deaths and suffering.
He added - in a tweet - that the exhausted population in Syria deserves to enhance aid and solidarity by increasing the field relief work team to 1,000 workers.
Earlier, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Syria reported that an aid convoy provided by the Qatari Red Crescent entered through the Bab Al-Salama border crossing to the countryside of Aleppo, northern Syria.
He added that the convoy consisted of 5 trucks carrying tents and food aid for those affected by the earthquake in northwestern Syria.
On the other hand, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing administration with Turkey reported that more than 1,700 Syrian families returned to Syria after the earthquake.