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ISTANBUL — A powerful earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria late Monday, sparking panic in a region devastated two weeks ago by powerful earthquakes that swept through towns and cities and killed more than 46,000 people.
Turkey’s Civil Protection Agency said in a message published on Twitter that the earthquake, which was recorded as measuring 6.4 magnitude, was centered in the southern province of Hatay, an area that experienced some of the worst in the two previous earthquakes on February 6 had suffered destruction.
The agency warned residents not to enter “damaged buildings” in the area or stay near “risky buildings.” It also warned people to avoid the coast as a precaution against the risk of “sea level rise” of up to 20 inches.
People fled to the streets in several Turkish cities, as well as Aleppo in Syria and other nearby Syrian cities, local residents reported. Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said eight injured were taken to hospitals.
Lutfu Savas, the mayor of Hatay, told Turkish broadcaster NTV the authorities had received reports of people trapped under rubble. A state hospital in Iskenderun, northwest of Hatay, was evacuated, Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency reported.
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The White Helmets, a civil defense force in northern Syria, said on Twitter that several civilians were injured by “falling debris, stampedes and jumping from high areas.” The group said walls and balconies had collapsed in several areas.
Monday’s earthquake came as authorities in Turkey and Syria are still recovering victims of the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck southern Turkey on February 6 — a disaster that killed more than 40,000 People died as tens of thousands of buildings collapsed. More than a million people were left homeless.
The authorities’ response to the February 6 earthquakes sparked anger on both sides of the border. In Turkey, people in the affected areas said government rescue teams took days to arrive in some cases as people died under the rubble. Residents of rebel-held northwest Syria said they were left to their own devices and were receiving a trickle of global attention and aid.
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Oktay said on television on Monday, “There is no need to panic.”
“We have enough equipment, search and rescue personnel and construction machinery on site,” he said.
Sarah Dadouch in Beirut contributed to this report.