(Antakya) 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 made more than 45,000 dead in both 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.
The new 6.4 magnitude earthquake, considered an aftershock of the February 6 earthquake by seismologists, occurred at 8:04 p.m. (12:04 p.m. Eastern Time) Monday, followed by 90 aftershocks, including the one of magnitude 5.8, according to AFAD.
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 quake 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 collapsed, including the seat of the governorate.
“The road moved like waves, the cars tossed from left to right. The building was moving, back and forth. It cut our legs,” Mehmet Irmak, 34, employed in a notary’s office, told AFP.
tents and containers
“Hatay is no longer a safe place now…” judged the man who has been sleeping in his car for two weeks.
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, which 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.
More than 6,000 aftershocks have been reported in the region since Feb. 6 along the Anatolian Rift, whose movements have devastated southern Turkey and much of Syria killing more than 45,000 people in both 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 Mr. Erdogan, more than 118,000 buildings have been destroyed or badly 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.