ANTAKYA: Two weeks after the nation's biggest earthquake in modern history left tens of thousands of people dead, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that hit southern Turkey close to the Syrian border late on Monday caused panic and severely damaged buildings.
The shocks, which were felt throughout downtown Antakya city, were severe and long-lasting, causing damage to structures and dispersing dust into the nighttime air, according to two Reuters sources. According to Reuters correspondents, Egypt and Lebanon were also affected.
The earthquake, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), occurred at a shallow depth of two km (1.2 miles).
When ambulances went to the earthquake-hit area close to the city centre, police officers monitored Antakya. When others flooded the streets near Central Park to make emergency phone calls, two persons expired.
Following the most recent earthquake, Reuters observed Turkish rescue teams scouring the area on foot to check on the locals, the majority of whom were sheltering in makeshift tents following the shocks two weeks previously.
More than a million people were left homeless and even more people perished in the two major earthquakes that occurred on February 6 and that also shook the neighbouring country of Syria. The most recent official death toll for both nations is 46,000.
