The repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday were not limited to the main affected areas, but extended to many Turkish states in the southeast and west of the country, and the Syrian governorates, especially the northern and central ones, which were hit by violent aftershocks from the dawn hours until Monday noon, which I arrived in the capital, Damascus.
Risk of rebounds
While geological experts and seismic monitoring bodies warn of the possibility of more earthquakes and seismic aftershocks during the coming hours and days, amid the continuation of rescue work and the removal of rubble in search of survivors in catastrophic scenes, which reflect the extent of the destruction that befell dozens of Turkish cities and towns such as Kahramanmaraş, Diyarbakir, Hatay and Syria. Like Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.
The seismic aftershocks included areas relatively far from its center, as is the case in the city of Hasaka, which is the center of the Syrian province of Hasaka in the north-east of the country, which is about 80 km from the Turkish-Syrian border.
Certificates
Sherine Abdel Aziz, a housewife from Al-Hasakah, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia:
- We were sleeping and suddenly my husband woke me up to tell us that there had been an earthquake, as I no longer realized what was happening, and whether it was a dream or reality, as I was neither fully awake nor asleep.
- Due to the confusion and panic, the shouts of the neighbors, and the wailing of women and children, my husband and our children hurried to go down to our apartment, which is located on the fourth floor, which is the last of the building. Due to the severity of the shock and horror, we went down in light clothes and the weather was very cold, and we had to go back again to wear heavy jackets.
- Thus, we stayed in the middle of the street with the residents of the neighborhood, until the sun rose, and then we returned to our apartments, and with the occurrence of other aftershocks in the noon hours, we went to my family’s earthly house because it is safer and we can get out of it quickly in case of any emergency.
As for the city of Qamishli, located on the Syrian-Turkish border, university student Laila Saleh says, in an interview with Sky News Arabia:
- Since the dawn hours, we have been living in real terror, as seismic aftershocks continue, to the extent that many of the city’s residents gather in their cars in spacious public squares, for fear of the collapse of homes and buildings.
- The situation is tragic, especially in light of the bad weather and heavy rains, as even if you go out of the house for fear of a new earthquake, you cannot stay outside for long due to the severe cold and heavy rain, and what increases people’s panic and tension is the extent of the widespread destruction that befell many Other Syrian regions and the catastrophic scenes coming from there.
The latest statistics of the earthquake in Syria
While rescue operations continue and the search for survivors under the rubble in the affected Syrian areas, the death toll, the wounded and the missing is increasing, as the latest toll of the Syrian Ministry of Health, which is constantly updated, indicates that the number of dead has reached 430 and the wounded has reached 1,315, in an indefinite toll, according to the ministry’s statement. , which covers the governorates of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartous.
While there are affected areas in the north and west of the country that are outside the control of the Syrian government, such as some areas of Idlib governorate and the countryside of Aleppo, which are considered among the areas most affected by the earthquake, as the number of deaths and initial injuries there is estimated in the hundreds, according to local and media sources such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.