ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday, three weeks after a cataclysmic quake devastated the region, collapsing some already damaged buildings and killing at least one person, authorities said.
More than 100 people were injured as a result of Monday’s quake in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, Yunus Sezer, the head of the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, told reporters. More than two dozen buildings collapsed.
A father and daughter trapped under the ruins of a four-story building in Yesilyurt were rescued with injuries. They had entered the damaged building to retrieve belongings.
Elsewhere in Malatya, search and rescue teams were searching the rubble of two damaged buildings that had fallen on some parked cars, HaberTurk reported. It was not clear if anyone was trapped under the rubble.
Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.
This quake killed more than 48,000 people in both countries and caused the collapse or severe damage of 185,000 buildings in Turkey.
The AFAD chief urged people not to enter damaged buildings and said strong aftershocks remain a risk. More than 10,000 aftershocks have struck the region since February 6.
The World Bank said Monday it estimates the massive earthquake caused $34.2 billion in “direct damage” — equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP in 2021.
The cost of restoration and rebuilding could potentially double, the World Bank said, adding that GDP losses would also increase the cost of the earthquake.
The World Bank also estimated that 1.25 million people were left temporarily homeless.
Meanwhile, fans of Turkish soccer club Besiktas threw stuffed animals onto the pitch during a game on Sunday to support children affected by the earthquake. Toys and winter clothing were thrown onto the stadium grounds to be donated to children in the earthquake-affected areas.
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This story has been corrected to show the estimated damage is $34.2 billion, not $43.2 billion.