Two more earthquakes hit Turkey-Syria Border region on Monday, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). A pair of earthquakes measuring 6.4 and 5.8 in magnitude struck Turkey’s southeastern Hatay province Monday, after a fort night of massive tremors that killed thousands and dislocated several. The quake was centred near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
As per the statement by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu three people died and injured more than 200 were injured. More buildings collapsed, trapping some people, while 6 were injured in neighboring Syria too. The White Helmets, northwest Syria’s civil defense organization, reported more than 130 injuries, most of them non-life threatening, including fractures and cases of people fainting from fear, while a number of buildings in areas already damaged by the quake collapsed.
The death toll exceeds 47,000 in Turkey and thousands more in neighboring Syria, is expected to keep rising as emergency workers comb through collapsed buildings.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the organization is ready to provide additional support to Turkey.
“My thoughts continue to be with the people of Turkiye and Syria, as they face the impact of new earthquakes striking the region this evening. @UN teams on the ground are assessing the situation, and we stand ready to provide additional support as needed,” Guterres said in a tweet.
The United States also expressed concern and extended support for aid. Taking to Twitter, Sullivan wrote, “We are deeply concerned by the news of earthquakes impacting areas already devastated in Turkiye and Syria. The US will continue to extend our full support.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Hatay earlier on Monday, and said his government would begin constructing close to 200,000 new homes in the quake-devastated region as early as next month. Erdogan said the new buildings will be no taller than three or four stories, built on firmer ground and to higher standards and in consultation with “geophysics, geotechnical, geology and seismology professors” and other experts. The Turkish leader said destroyed cultural monuments would be rebuilt in accordance with their “historic and cultural texture.”
At present around 1.6 million people are currently being housed in temporary shelters.