6.3-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Turkey-Syria Border Region Devastated by Quakes Two Weeks Ago

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Turkey-Syria border region on Monday afternoon, causing further damage in areas that were devastated by the more powerful quakes of two weeks ago:

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet. Is there going to be another aftershock?” a terrified mother living in a Turkish tent city in Antakya told Reuters, weeping as she feared another monster quake could be on the way.

The twin quakes on February 6 were much stronger, topping out at magnitude 7.8, but because so many buildings were damaged from that terrifying disaster, even a weaker quake is cause for serious concern. The new event was strong enough to be felt as far away as Lebanon and Egypt.

Turkish authorities reported some building damage from the new quake in Hatay province, which suffered the worst damage from the quakes two weeks ago, and said efforts were underway to determine if anyone was injured. 

Antakya is the capital city of Hatay. The BBC ran a story over the weekend about how the historic city has become all but unrecognizable to longtime residents after February 6.

A correspondent for CNN Turkey was brought to tears by the sight of another quake hitting the devastated city:

Some Hatay residents acted very quickly when they felt the ground shifting beneath their feet again:

AFAD, the Turkish disaster management agency, said the new quake was centered around the town of Defne in Hatay and was strong enough to cause several weakened buildings in the area to collapse.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists said they “strongly felt” the quake in Antakya and Adana, the latter of which is about 300 miles north of Defne. One of AFP’s correspondents reported “scenes of panic” as Monday’s tremors raised clouds of dust, caused damaged buildings to crumble, and raised cries for help from injured people.

According to AFAD, the death toll from the February 6 quakes stood at 41,156 in Turkey as of Monday, which is 44,844 counting Syrian casualties. More than a dozen search and rescue operations were still underway in Hatay when the new quake occurred.