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Rescue workers search under rubble after an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey, February 6, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Sertac Kayar
ANKARA – One person died and 69 others were hospitalized with various injuries when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Monday (27/2/2023).
The head of the Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) Yunus Sezer announced that the epicenter was located at a depth of 6.9 km in Yesilyurt, a city and district in Malatya province.
Turkey’s Minister of National Education Mahmut Ozer said 22 buildings collapsed in the quake. AFAD sent a rescue team to the area.
Turkey was hit by two powerful earthquakes on February 6, killing more than 44,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes.
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Nearly two million people have been offered temporary shelter inside and outside the disaster zone, according to disaster management authority AFAD.
AFAD General Manager Orhan Tatar said on Saturday that more than 9,500 aftershocks had been felt in the region since the initial quake.
Tremors measuring up to six on the Richter scale are noted every three minutes and are expected to continue for at least two years.
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The February 6 earthquake in Turkey also affected neighboring Syria, where buildings collapsed, trapping thousands of people under rubble.
Syria’s health ministry said the latest death toll from the quake in the government-controlled part of the country had reached 1,410.
But UN estimates put the total number of deaths in the country at 8,500. It’s unclear whether Monday’s quake was also felt in Syria.
(she)
