Ankara. Turkey’s disaster management agency said another powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.6 was recorded on Monday with its epicenter near the epicenter of the previous quake. Dozens of aftershocks were felt after the quake, according to the agency.
The US Geological Survey measured the magnitude 7.5 quake, which struck at 10:24 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, with its epicenter just 10 kilometers below the surface. Because it is close to the surface, this shock is expected to cause more damage. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the Turkish city of Ekinozu, which is close to the city of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, which has a population of two million and was the epicenter of the quake early Monday morning. It is a severe winter here and the temperature is close to zero.
Turkey’s disaster agency official Orhan Tatar told reporters the two quakes were separate. He said that after tremors from both quakes, hundreds more mild tremors are expected to be felt. Aftershocks were also felt on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where people shared their experiences on social media.
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Workers at high-rise buildings in the capital Nicosia were immediately evacuated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that so far 45 countries have offered help after Monday’s earthquake.
The President said in a televised message that 912 people died and more than 5,400 were injured in 10 provinces of the country due to the quake. He said that 2,470 people have been pulled from the rubble and about 3,000 buildings have been destroyed due to the quake. With this, the total death toll in Turkey and neighboring Syria from the earthquake surpassed 1,300. (agency)