The United States is “deeply concerned” over the two fresh earthquakes that jolted southern Turkey on Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said and adding that they are ready to “extend full support.”
Taking to Twitter, Sullivan wrote, “We are deeply concerned by the news of earthquakes impacting areas already devastated in Turkiye and Syria. The US will continue to extend our full support.” On Monday evening, two earthquakes jolted Turkey’s southernmost Hatay province and killed 3 persons and 213 injured, just two weeks after major quakes hit the region, the country’s disaster management agency said. According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency citing the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), one of the quakes occured at around 20.04 pm, local time (1704GMT) in the Defence district of Hatay, with a magnitude of 6.4.
In contrast, the other quake with a magnitude of 5.8 hit the country three minutes later, with its epicentre being in Hatay’s Samandag province.
The first quake took place at a depth of 16.7 kilometres (10.4 miles), while the second one was at a depth of 7 km (4.3 mi). Both were felt in surrounding areas.
The quakes of two weeks ago, though centred in Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometres or more from Hatay, caused extensive damage in Hatay, reported Anadolu Agency.
AFAD issued warnings urging citizens to avoid coastal areas as a precaution against the risk of a rise in the sea level, which could reach up to 50 centimetres (1.6 feet).
