A new quake with 6.4 magnitude hits the border region of Turkey and Syria on Monday February 20, killing six and injuring more than 300 people, at the time of reports.
According to Hatay’s mayor, Luftu Savas, a number of buildings collapsed and more people had been trapped. The victims were suspected to be individuals who had returned home from their refuge. Jolted by the incident, surviving individuals were seen running to the streets, carrying their blankets while others held onto one another to avoid falling.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that search and rescue efforts were underway in three collapsed building where about five people were believed to have been trapped.
About two weeks earlier, a massive earthquake which occurred in both countries killed more than 47,000 people and damaged over hundreds of thousands of homes. Turkish authorities have recorded about 6,000 aftershocks while millions of inhabitants are seeking refuge in temporary shelters.
As survivors continue to seek refuge in temporary shelters, people are at risk of respiratory, food and water-borne diseases outbreak, hence the need to expedite humanitarian aids by other countries.
Monday, 20th February
By Gwendolyn E. Dickens
