6.4 magnitude earthquake hits southern Türkiye
Monday, February 20, 2023
People react after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit in Antakya, southern Turkey, on Monday. Photo by Reuters

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck southern Türkiye, weeks after a deadly quake devastated the region, the BBC reports.

Türkiye's disaster and emergency agency Afad said the tremor occurred at 20.04 local time (17.04 GMT).

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Witnesses told the Reuters news agency there had been further damage to buildings in Antakya.

A 7.8-magnitude struck the region on 6 February, killing more than 44,000 people in Türkiye and Syria.

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Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since that earthquake hit, but the BBC team in the region said today&039;s tremor felt much stronger than previous ones.

Witnesses said it was also felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.

It is currently unclear how much damage it has caused or if there are any casualties.

In a tweet, Afad urged people to stay away from coastlines as a precaution against the risk of rising sea levels.

Muna Al Omar, a local resident, told Reuters she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the earthquake hit.

"I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet," she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son.

"Is there going to be another aftershock?" she asked.

Antakya, the capital of Türkiye's Hatay Province, was one of the places hit most severely by the earthquake on 6 February.