Debris from buildings destroyed by earthquakes earlier this month.| Photo: Erdem Sahin/EFE
A new earthquake measuring 6.4 degrees this Monday shook Turkey’s Hatay province, one of the hardesthit places by the February 6 earthquake that killed at least 41,000 people.
The quake, with its epicenter south of the city of Antioquia, occurred at 17:04 GMT (14:04 GMT) according to the Kandilli Observatory in Istanbul and was also felt in neighboring countries.
There is no data yet on possible further damage or casualties, but numerous reporters present in Antioquia said the quake caused panic among the tented survivors.
At least one halfcollapsed building collapsed completely and debris from other buildings damaged parked cars, according to broadcaster NTV.
Ahmet Ovgun Ercan, a geophysicist at Istanbul Technical University, told HalkTV that this earthquake, which he timed for 17 seconds, was a normal phenomenon and expected some already damaged buildings to collapse.
None of the buildings in Antioquia have been habitable since the 6th earthquakes, but there are teams working to remove debris that may have been trapped by a landslide.
Additionally, many survivors have a habit of gathering around campfires in front of collapsed buildings to help identify bodies, and may be at risk if a neighboring building has collapsed.
“It was terrible, broken windows fell on us. Everyone left the tents in panic. In the dark, you still can’t see what happened,” Ugur Sahin, a reporter for the BirGün newspaper, told EFE by phone.
The national emergency services AFAD, which selflocated the epicenter of the earthquake in the neighborhood of Defne in Antioquia, mentions an aftershock of 5.8 degrees with the epicenter in Samandag.