Ankara: A new earthquake of 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Elbistan district in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province on Monday afternoon, the Anadolu Agency reported.
This is the second quake in the past 24 hours after the first caused major destruction and claimed several lives.
The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) revealed that a new earthquake occurred in the Elbistan region at 1:24 pm local time, with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale.
The fresh tremors were also felt in Damascus, Latakia and other Syrian provinces, as per reports by Syria’s SANA news agency.
This came shortly after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria at dawn on Monday, killing 1,585 people and injuring thousands more. Hundreds are believed to be still trapped under the rubble, and the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.
In its statement, AFAD warned of the presence of dangerous seismic activity in the region (Kahramanmaraş), and that aftershocks will continue to reach a magnitude of 6.5-6.7.
This earthquake comes at a time when the Turkish states are witnessing aftershocks that caused panic among the citizen.
The Turkish Emergency Management Department called on citizens to stay away from damaged buildings and gathering in the earthquake area due to the continuation of the aftershocks.
In a speech at the headquarters of the official Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), Erdogan said that the earthquake that struck the Pazardik region in the state of Kahramanmaraş had a magnitude of 7.7 on a scale at a depth of 7 km, and the damage included 10 Turkish states.
Erdogan explained that the earthquake, in addition to the victims, injured 5,385 people, collapsed 2,818 buildings, and rescued 2,470 people from under the rubble, stressing that “the number of victims cannot be predicted as search and rescue operations continue.”
