Earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale shakes southeastern Turkey

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck the southeastern Turkish province of Hatay. The Kandilli earthquake center in Istanbul announced this on Monday. The epicenter was in the Samandag district. People ran into the streets in panic, as shown on television images. According to broadcaster CNN Türk, the power went out in Hatay.

The earthquake was also felt in the surrounding provinces, in northern Syria and even in Lebanon. A resident near the Syrian city of Aleppo said the quake was as strong as two weeks ago, but didn’t last as long. “It scared people and made them run into the streets,” said the resident named Abdel Kafi.

Houses have collapsed again in several places near the city of Aleppo, a spokeswoman for aid organization SAMS said. Among them is the town of Djindiris near the Turkish border, which was hit hard by the earthquake two weeks ago.

The quake came two weeks after a devastating quake hit the region. Early on the morning of February 6, a magnitude 7.7 quake shook southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, followed hours later by a second severe quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale . In both cases, the epicenter was in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras. The earthquake killed more than 47,000 people, including at least 41,000 in Turkey. (cst/sda/dpa)