A n earthquake of magnitude 4.7 struck Turkey’s southern city of Kahramanmaras on Sunday (local time), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude tremor that upturned millions of lives in the pre-dawn hours of last Monday.
“A magnitude 4.7, 24 km SSE of Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Time 00:03 hrs; Location: 37.390°N 37.048°E; Depth: 15.7,” USGS reported. More than 33,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on last Monday, officials said. Meanwhile, Turkey’s Hatay airport, located in one of the hardest-hit provinces, has resumed operations, the Turkish Transport Ministry has said, reported Al Jazeera. “We quickly repaired the damage on the Hatay Airport runway. Our airport started to operate today,” Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said in its official Twitter page, sharing before and after images of the airport’s runway. In Antakya, residents and aid workers who came from other cities have cited worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being looted, reported Al Jazeera. Some residents who were left homeless by the earthquake and are now sleeping in their cars or tents have said their valuable belongings including gold have been stolen. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the government would deal firmly with looters, noting that a state of emergency had been declared. Under a presidential decree, the detention period for looters has been lengthened to four days from one.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Sunday that 57 people had been arrested for looting, reported Al Jazeera.
In the latest development, Doha will send Turkey and Syria 10,000 cabins and caravans used during the FIFA World Cup, Qatari officials have said, reported Al Jazeera.
The mobile homes were used for a few weeks when Qatar hosted the football World Cup last year. Officials indicated after the tournament that they would be donated. The first shipment is set to leave Doha port for Turkey on Monday, with further deliveries expected in the coming days, the officials said. Days after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, teams are rushing to save victims that could still be alive under rubble, with a UN liaison officer in Turkey warning that they are “approaching the end of the search and rescue window.”
A 10-year-old girl was rescued after 147 hours under the rubble, the latest in a series of harrowing stories of success as workers in Turkey continue to search for survivors. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said a baby was rescued from the debris in the Hatay province 150 hours after the quakes hit the region.