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Many Jordanians feel aftershocks of massive earthquake in Turkey, Syria

By Rana Tayseer - Feb 06,2023 - Last updated at Feb 06,2023

This aerial view shows residents searching for victims and survivors amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in the village of Besnia near the town of Harim, in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on the border with Turkey, on Monday (AFP photo Omar Haj Kadour)

AMMAN — Many Jordanians on Monday said that they felt the earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border earlier in the day.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor hit at 04:17 local time at a depth of 17.9km near the city of Gaziantep.  The Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO) reported the earthquake. 

Reports from Turkey said that a second massive earthquake in less than 12 hours hit the southeast of the country. The Syrian state also said that Damascus was affected by the latest large quake.

According to reports, the official death toll from the first quake in both Turkey and Syria had already risen to over 1,200. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the quake that took the lives of 912 people, the “largest disaster” since 1939. At least 5,383 people were wounded in Turkey in the quake.

Many aftershocks were recorded in the Kingdom on Monday, Al Mamlaka TV reported, citing the Jordanian Seismological Observatory.

As the details of the disaster emerged, a number of Jordanians shared on social media that they had felt the earthquake.

Mohammad Ali, a resident of the Shafa Badran neighbourhood in Amman said: “I woke up around 4.20am. It was scary. My bed started shaking and even the closet”. 

“I thought I was dreaming but it happened again and I then checked the websites for news to know what happened. Then I read some news about the earthquake in Turkey,” he added. 

Husam Amer, who lives in Zarqa, said he too felt the quake: “The window in my bedroom started shaking. It woke me up, it was very scary. I never felt an earthquake before,” he added.

“In the morning before I went to work, I saw the news on the TV. I am sorry for those who died,” Amer said. 

 

 

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