The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said that it recorded a second earthquake, centered in Kahramanmaraş, in the southeast of the country, with a magnitude of 7.6 today, Monday, while the number of victims of the disaster in the country reached more than 912 at least.
The Turkish authorities added that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 7 kilometers, and its epicenter was the Al-Bustan area in the Kahramanmaraş region.
Earthquakes were felt in a number of countries neighboring Turkey, on Monday morning, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, while Syria was severely affected and hundreds of people were killed, according to preliminary estimates.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center said that a strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey on Monday, amid expectations that the number of victims will increase, given the continued efforts to search for victims and survivors.
The center added that the earthquake occurred 67 km north-northeast of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey, at a depth of two km.
Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag:
We provide all information and developments transparently about the disaster.
There are cracks in many of the buildings and we are evacuating their residents.
There is coordination on rescue priorities in the 10 quake-affected cities.
An earthquake hits Damascus
Official media reported that an earthquake struck the Syrian capital, Damascus, and a number of Syrian governorates, on Monday.
According to the newspaper “Washington Post”, the death toll from the earthquake in southern Turkey and neighboring Syria exceeded 1,300 people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that 5,385 people were injured in the most severe earthquake to hit Turkey in decades.
Stopping the Syrian Banias refinery due to the earthquake
Meanwhile, the Syrian News Agency, quoting the Oil Ministry, said on Monday that the authorities had suspended work at the Baniyas oil refinery for 48 hours to deal with damage caused by the earthquake that struck the country.
