VOA News
The death toll has risen to at least eight from an earthquake that struck the border region of Turkey and Syria Monday, two weeks after a massive quake that left nearly 45,000 people dead.
Monday’s earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4 and was centered in the town of Defne, in Turkey’s Hatay province, an area that was severely damaged by the February 6 quake.
The new quake was felt in several countries, including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt and was followed by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake.
“All of a sudden, the building shook. I immediately ran downstairs from the second floor. It shook terribly. It’s very sad,” Gaziantep resident Ahmet Kilic told VOA’s Turkish Service.
He said he was afraid to return to his house because he lives alone.
Another Gaziantep resident, Zeynep Deveci, told VOA he had just returned to his home following the February 6 quake.
“Yesterday I came back, and today we are on the street again. We don’t know what our end will be.”
Rescue workers were searching in several collapsed buildings in Hatay where people were believed to be trapped.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that six people were injured in Aleppo.
Also Monday, a United Nations convoy carrying relief supplies made its way through a newly opened border crossing into Syria at al-Ra’ee.
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there are now three fully operating border crossings for the United Nations to enter Syria.
He said the UN has now dispatched 227 trucks to rebel-held areas in northwest Syria and said preparations are underway to send more trucks through all three border crossings.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Hatay earlier on Monday and said his government would begin next month to construct nearly 200,000 new homes in the province.
Also Monday, Erdogan met in Ankara with visiting United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who a day earlier announced US pledges of $100 million in additional aid for Turkey and Syria.
The new aid brings the total US assistance to $185 million and will be provided to international and nongovernmental groups that have been involved in the rescue and recovery efforts.
“The United States is here to support you in your time of need, and we will be by your side as long as it takes to recover and rebuild,” Blinken told reporters Monday during a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. – gb
