A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey’s southern province of Hatay on Monday, days after the February 6 tremor which left more than 41,000 dead in the country.
The quake hit the town of Defne at 8:04 pm (1704 GMT) and was strongly felt by AFP teams in Antakya and Adana, 200 kilometres (300 miles) to the north, the disaster response agency AFAD said.
An AFP journalist reported scenes of panic, adding that the new tremors raised clouds of dust in the devastated town. The walls of badly damaged buildings crumbled while several people, apparently injured, called for help.
According to AFAD, more than 6,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria.
Panic as Turkey, Syria Rocked Again by Earthquake
The new earthquake triggered panic and further damaging buildings two weeks after the country’s worst earthquake in modern history left tens of thousands dead.
Two Reuters reporters said the tremors were strong and lasting, damaging buildings and leaving dust in the night air in central Antakya city, where it was centred. It was also felt in Egypt and Lebanon, Reuters reporters said.
Muna Al Omar, a resident, said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit.
“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.
41,000 People Killed in February 6 Quake in Turkey
Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would build almost 200,000 new homes in the country’s southeast region. The tragedy has left millions without homes.
Erdogan said around 118,000 buildings either collapsed, required urgent demolition or were severely damaged by the quake.
He announced reconstruction work would begin in March to build 199,739 homes, including more than 130,000 in the worst-affected provinces of Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Malatya. “None of these buildings will be more than three or four storeys high,” he promised after the quake caused several high-rise blocks of flats to collapse.
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Turkey to Built 200,000 New homes Away From Fault Lines
The President said the new homes would be built away from fault lines, “closer to the mountains”, which would “protect against problems that are caused by soft soil”.
“We will start to move our citizens living in tents and container cities to their sturdy, safe and comfortable homes within a year,” Erdogan added.
The state was providing shelter to around 1,6 million people in the region, according to Erdogan, speaking after a visit to affected areas in Hatay province.
Erdogan said rescuers had saved 114,834 people from the rubble. Search and rescue efforts have ended in nine provinces, but as of Sunday continued in Hatay and Kahramanmaras.
“We will build a new Antakya, Iskenderun, Arsuz,” the president said, referring to towns and cities in Hatay levelled by the quake.
The city of Antakya, once home to a myriad of civilisations, lies in ruins after the quake, with centuries-old mosques and churches destroyed.
Rescue Ops Over Except Two Provinces
Rescue efforts following the earthquake had ended in all except two provinces in Turkey.
The head of Turkey’s disaster agency Yunus Sezer on Sunday said search and rescue efforts had been completed in all provinces apart from Hatay and Kahramanmaras, the earthquake’s epicentre.
(With inputs from Reuters, AFP)
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