Two new earthquakes, of magnitude 6.4 and 5.8, were recorded on Monday 20 February in the evening in the Turkish province of Hatay (South), the most affected by the earthquake of 6 February, which killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria, reported the Turkish relief agency AFAD. The agency announced on February 21 that six people died and 300 were hospitalised, 18 of them in serious condition, due to the new tremors.

The first tremor, of magnitude 6.4, whose epicentre was located in Defne, a district some 15 minutes away from Antakya by car, occurred at 8.04pm and was felt very strongly in Antakya and Adana, 200 km further north.

It was followed three minutes later by another 5.8 magnitude tremor in Samandag, a coastal town south of Antakya, said Afad, which fears “a rise in sea level of up to 50 cm”.

Reports from the city of Antakya spoke of fear and panic in the streets as ambulances and rescue crews tried to reach the worst affected areas where the walls of badly damaged buildings had collapsed.

The authorities immediately called on the population to stay away from the coast, warning of the risk of flooding. Major tremors were felt in Antakya, inland, causing panic.

İŞTE DEHŞET ANLARI!

Hatay’ın Defne ilçesinde bugün saat 20.04’te 6.4 büyüklüğünde deprem meydana geldi. Dakikalar sonra meydana gelen ikinci depremin ise büyüklüğünün 5.8 olduğu açıklandı. Hatay Havalimanı'nda büyük panik yaşandı.#depremoldu #deprem #bitmiyor pic.twitter.com/MCiuq1l3x6

— Haber Shop (@habershop) February 20, 2023

The tremors were also felt in the Aleppo region of northwestern Syria, causing panicked people to leave their homes and take to the streets. In Antakya too, the tremor caused panic among the already hard-pressed population and raised large clouds of dust in the ruined city.

Read Also: Earthquake in Turkey: 19 deaths among Moroccan nationals (Embassy)

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