Europe 1 with AFP 2:45 p.m., February 21, 2023

More than two weeks after the violent earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, a new strong earthquake shook northern Syria and the Turkish province of Hatay (south) on Monday evening, killing six people. .

In a final assessment, the drama of February 6 killed more than 45,000 people in the two countries.

Six people died in a new strong earthquake which shook northern Syria and the Turkish province of Hatay (southern) on Monday evening, the most affected by the February 6 earthquake which killed more than 45,000 people in the two countries.

Nearly 300 people were also hospitalized, including 18 in serious condition in this Turkish province, according to the latest report from the public relief agency Afad.

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This new earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4, considered an aftershock of the February 6 earthquake by seismologists, occurred at 8:04 p.m. (1704 GMT) on Monday, followed by 90 aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.8, according to Afad.

At least 150 people injured in Aleppo region

At the same time, at least 150 people were injured in the Aleppo region, in northwestern Syria, announced the White Helmets, rescuers who operate in rebel areas in Syria.

The violence of the earthquake was also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus, according to AFP correspondents.

In Antakya, the big city of Hatay province, buildings damaged by the devastating earthquake of February 6 have collapsed, including the seat of the governorate.

"The road was moving like waves, the cars tossed from left to right. The building was moving, back and forth. It cut our legs," Mehmet Irmak, 34, told AFP. employed in a notary's office.

"Hatay is no longer a safe place now..." judged the man who has been sleeping in his car for two weeks.

Two hospitals in the province evacuated

As a safety measure, two hospitals in the province were evacuated on Monday evening and their patients sheltered in field hospitals erected in tents.

The Afad coordination center was also evacuated.

Among the dead are three people who had wanted to return to their damaged apartments to recover their belongings and were trapped there, said Afad, who called on the affected residents not to try to return to their homes, even briefly. .

The organization also announced on Tuesday the dispatch of 6,000 additional tents to the region to accommodate “worried citizens”.

"The expedition of the tents will continue throughout the day by air and road" adds Afad.

Nearly 200,000 tents have been deployed in the affected areas as well as containers that can serve as shelter.

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- Earthquake in Turkey: the country stops research except in two provinces

More than 45,000 dead in total in a final assessment

More than 6,000 aftershocks have been reported in the region since February 6 along the Anatolian Rift, whose movements have devastated southern Turkey and much of Syria, killing more than 45,000 people in the two countries.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Hatay province on Monday, one of only two with Kahramanmaras further north where research and excavations are continuing.

They were arrested everywhere else on Sunday and the hope of finding survivors is almost nil.

According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, more than 118,000 buildings have been destroyed or seriously damaged in the country.

Three months before the date – still maintained at this stage – of May 14 for the presidential and legislative elections, the head of state who will again be a candidate has promised the construction of 200,000 housing units.