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Over 6,000 aftershocks occurred after February 6 Türkiye quakes – AFAD

The director of Türkiye's disaster management authority warns of more aftershocks after two devastating earthquakes that struck the country's southeastern region on February 6.

AA

Quakes, centred in Kahramanmaras, have impacted more than 13M people across 11 provinces.

The number of aftershocks following the two earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye on February 6 has reached over 6,000, an official from the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said.

"The number of aftershocks caused by the two earthquakes has reached 6,040. Among them, 1,628 aftershocks were measured as a magnitude of 3-4, 436 of them with a magnitude of 4-5, and 40 with a magnitude of 5-6. There was also a 6.6 magnitude quake," Orhan Tatar, the general director of earthquake and risk reduction at AFAD, said at a media briefing in southern Kahramanmaras province on Sunday.

Warning of more aftershocks after the devastating earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye, Tatar said: "Especially after earthquakes of this magnitude, aftershocks will continue for a longer period of time. Some of these aftershocks may have a magnitude 5 and above."

As a result of the earthquakes, the earth's crust moved by 7.3 metres (24 feet). That is a "very serious number. The quakes also unleashed a great deal of energy," he added.

Intense lightening

The impact of these earthquakes reached 110,000 square kilometres and caused damage in many provinces and districts, he said.

Addressing claims on social media of flashes of light in the sky resembling lightning bolts during the earthquakes, he said intense lightning during quakes is "quite normal."

At least 41,020 people have been killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southeastern Türkiye on February 6, the country’s disaster management agency said Sunday.

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, centred in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people have been killed.

SOURCE: AA