At least three people have been killed by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the Turkey-Syria border region two weeks after the area was devastated by earthquakes that killed more than 45,000 people.
Monday's earthquake struck the city of Defne in the province of Hatay at 8:04 p.m. local time (17:04 GMT). It was felt powerfully in the provincial seat of Antakya and Adana province, 200 kilometres (300 miles) to the north. Turkey's disaster management office reported a magnitude 5.8 earthquake three minutes later.
Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister of Turkey, stated that three people were murdered and more than 200 others were injured. He noted that rescue workers were attempting to locate people buried behind the debris.
According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, the shocks were felt in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt.
The national news agency of Syria, SANA, reported that six people were hurt by falling rubble in Aleppo. At the same time, the mayor of Hatay stated that several buildings had collapsed, trapping people inside.
The province of Hatay sits on the Mediterranean Sea, and the disaster service cautioned residents to stay away from the coast since the earthquakes could create a 50cm rise in water level (20 inches).
'Very scared'
Assed Baig of Al Jazeera reported from Gaziantep, Turkey, that aftershocks continued, and there were reports of other structures being destroyed in the area.
"There are structures still standing but have sustained damage," added Baig. "It is feared that if there are other aftershocks of similar magnitude, the structures could collapse, endangering lives. Several individuals here are quite terrified."
According to witnesses, Turkish rescue services are frantically searching for anyone needing assistance following the recent earthquakes.
Muna al-Omar stated that she was in a tent in a central Antakya park when Monday's earthquakes struck.
She cried as she embraced her 7-year-old kid and stated, "I thought the earth was going to open up beneath my feet." "Will there be a subsequent aftershock?"
On February 6, 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes devastated southeast Turkey and neighbouring Syria, leaving about 47,000 people dead and one million displaced. The estimated economic damage of the disaster is in the tens of billions of dollars.
Since February 6, according to Mehmet Kokum, an assistant professor of geology in Elazig, Turkey, there have been over 5,000 aftershocks.
"This is entirely predictable," he told Al Jazeera. "We know from experience that the duration of the aftershocks will range from months to years. However, it will diminish day by day."
According to Hatay's mayor, Lutfu Savas, several buildings collapsed on Monday. According to Savas, it is thought that trapped people either returned to their homes or attempted to remove furniture from damaged residences.
Alejandro Malaver said that in the Turkish city of Adana, residents abandoned their homes and transported blankets to their automobiles, where they expect to overnight.
Syria hit again
Abdulkafi al-Hamdo, an opposition activist in northern Syria, reported that survivors of the most recent shocks were afraid.
"This earthquake, despite being shorter and slightly weaker, caused more terror among the populace," he explained to Al Jazeera.
"Due to the preceding event, people have terror and trauma. Therefore everyone ran outside. Some persons were involved in accidents while evacuating, while others leapt from their balconies. People are not safe here."
Media sites in Syria's Idlib and Aleppo provinces said several structures had collapsed, and electricity and internet services had been cut in portions of the region, severely impacted by the earthquakes two weeks ago.
The media reported that many individuals had evacuated their homes and assembled in open spaces.
The Syrian American Medical Society, which operates hospitals in northern Syria, reported treating several patients, including those who experienced fear-induced heart attacks.
The Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer emergency response organization in opposition-held territories commonly known as the White Helmets, warned inhabitants of northwest Syria to adhere to evacuation and earthquake response procedures.
The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey two weeks ago grew to 41,156 on Monday, according to the disaster management agency, and is anticipated to rise further. In Syria, over 6,000 people perished.
An estimated 385,000 homes were burned or severely damaged, and numerous individuals are still missing.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said that building over 200,000 apartments in 11 earthquake-ravaged provinces would begin next month.
