Orhan Tatar, head of the Turkish Interior Ministry’s Emergency Department (AFAD) for earthquake risk reduction, told a press conference that at least 285 aftershocks have been registered in the country since Monday. This was reported on February 7 by the Haber Turk TV channel.
According to him, most of the aftershocks were recorded in central Turkey. Also, tremors were registered in the provinces of Gaziantep and Kahramanmarash in the southeast of the country, where an earthquake of devastating force occurred on Monday morning.
Tatar added that the earthquake affected ten Turkish provinces.
Earlier Tuesday, Director of the Institute of the Earth’s Crust of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Gladkochub admitted that aftershocks after a strong earthquake could continue for several years. In Turkey, the Anatolian and Arabian plates are shifting, when the latter presses on the former, the specialist emphasized.
On the night of February 6, seismologists recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, located near the Syrian border. Several dozen aftershocks followed. In the afternoon there was another earthquake of magnitude 7.6.
According to the latest data, as a result of the earthquake in the south-east of Turkey, the death toll is 3381 people. The number of victims is estimated at 15,834 people.
In Syria, 656 people became victims of the elements, more than 1.4 thousand citizens suffered.
Also on February 6, earthquakes of weak strength occurred in Iraq and Lebanon. The tremors were also felt by residents of Abkhazia, Georgia and Armenia. According to eyewitnesses, chandeliers swayed and furniture shook in multi-storey buildings.
Turkey has declared seven days of mourning. Rescue operations continue.
