A shallow magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the Turkey-Syria border region after it was devastated earlier this month by temblors that killed tens of thousands of people.
Monday’s aftershock in Turkey’s Hatay province was at a depth of 2km (1.2 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
The quake hit the town of Defne at 8:04pm (17:04 GMT) and was strongly felt in the cities of Antakya and Adana, 200km (300 miles) to the north.
A second magnitude 5.8 centred in Samandag district of Hatay shook the region several minutes later, Turkey’s disaster management agency said.
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Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said the temblors were felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.
Hatay province is on the Mediterranean Sea and the disaster agency said the sea level could rise by 50cm (20 inches), warning people to stay away from the coast.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported six people were injured in Aleppo from falling debris, while the mayor of Hatay said a number of buildings have collapsed, trapping people inside.
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Gaziantep, said there were reports of more structures being destroyed in the region. He added there were many aftershocks that were continuing.
“There are buildings that are standing but have been damaged. The fear is if there are more aftershocks like this, it could bring down those buildings, threatening lives,” Baig said. “Many people here are very scared.”
Witnesses said Turkish rescue teams were running around after the latest quakes, checking if people were unharmed.
Some media outlets in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo regions badly affected earlier this month reported some buildings collapsed and electricity and internet services were interrupted in parts of the region.
The news organisations said many people fled their homes and were gathering in open areas.
The Syrian American Medical Society, which runs hospitals in northern Syria, said it treated a number of patients, including several who suffered heart attacks brought on by fear following the temblor.
Culled from Aljazeera
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