Powerful new earthquake hits Turkey, trapping several under rubble

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.4 struck Turkey’s Hatay province on Monday, killing at least six and injuring hundreds, Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD announced on Tuesday. Hatay was one of the hardest hit areas by the major earthquakes that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria just two weeks ago.

Turkey’s death toll from Feb. 6 earthquakes stands at 41,156 people, according to official figures, more than 20,000 of them in Hatay.

AFAD said that Monday’s earthquake injured 294 people with 18 in critical condition.

In a press conference on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said at least 42 buildings collapsed after the new earthquakes.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit Turkey's Hatay at 8:04 p.m. local time.

Prelim M6.4 Earthquake Turkey-Syria border region Feb-20 17:04 UTC, updates https://t.co/ncl9zp6637

— USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (@USGSted) Feb. 20, 2023

Hatay Mayor Lutfu Savas said the quake led to the collapse of several buildings. 

“We are receiving reports that there are people trapped under the rubble of these buildings,” Savas told HaberTurk television, adding that several movers had been working at those collapsed buildings at the time of the earthquakes.

Emergency teams are feared to be trapped under the rubble as search and rescue work is still going on in Hatay. Video footage shows ambulances and rescuers rushing to the sites where structures are feared to have collapsed. Luckily, most of the collapsed buildings are believed to have been empty, as tens of thousands of people were forced to leave their houses after the Feb. 6 quakes.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that emergency teams have been conducting checks in newly collapsed buildings in central Hatay to see if anyone was trapped under the debris. 

Turkey’s disaster management agency announced the 6.4-magnitude quake struck close to Hatay’s center. Several aftershocks hit the same area, one measuring 5.8. Turkish news outlets reported that the local hospital in Hatay is being evacuated.

The agency briefly issued a tsunami watch in Turkey’s coastal towns. Local authorities in Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Antalya, some 750 kilometers (470 miles) west of Hatay, called on people to stay clear of the coast.

People in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq felt the trembling. The earthquake was felt in other provinces affected by the Feb. 6 twin quakes. Many residents left their houses and are now afraid to return.

 Editor’s note: This article has been updated after its initial publication.