A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the Turkey-Syria border at around 7:04 pm Monday evening. The epicenter of the quake was in Hatay province, 70 kilometers north of Latakia, Syria and just 14 kilometers southwest of Antakya, at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The quake, which caused some already-damaged buildings to collapse, was felt in northern and central Israel for as long as 20 seconds, as well as in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.
Residents reported cracked walls in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak; similar reports came from the northern city of Akko, the city of Kfar Saba and surprisingly, the southern city of Kiryat Gat, 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Tel Aviv.
In light of the earthquakes, both of which were felt in Israel, IDF Home Front Command reissued its updated earthquake preparedness guidelines.
Prepare emergency equipment, which will last for at least three days, store it in a bag and place it in an accessible place such as the protected room. The kit should include medical and essential equipment adapted to your needs, including the following items:
* Communication aids detailing what needs to be done, such as pictures, short sentences, etc.
* Spare batteries for assistive communication technologies.
The epicenter of Monday night’s earthquake was located southwest of Hatay province. A second, 5.8-magnitude quake, hit the same area less than an hour later, at around 7:38 pm local time.
Two new earthquakes, one 6.4 and one 5.8, hit Hatay in the south of Turkey around 30 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/uqslECtP2K
— Memet Aksakal (@aksakal_memet) February 20, 2023
The same area has been hit by more than 6,000 aftershocks since a 7.8-magnitude quake devastated southeastern Turkey on February 6. The epicenter of that quake was located in Kahramanmaras province.
More than 45,000 people were killed in that quake and a second, 7.7-magnitude quake that followed hours later.
This is a developing story.
