UN, US to extend support after two more quakes hit Turkiye

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that the world body is ready to provide “additional support” after two more earthquakes jolted Turkiye’s southern province of Hatay.

“My thoughts continue to be with the people of Turkiye and Syria as they face the impact of new earthquakes striking the region this evening,” Anadolu Agency quoted Guterres as saying on Twitter.

“UN teams on the ground are assessing the situation, and we stand ready to provide additional support as needed,” he added.

Meanwhile, the White House said Monday that the US is “deeply concerned” after the fresh earthquakes, promising that it would continue to offer its full support.

“We are deeply concerned by the news of earthquakes impacting areas already devastated in Turkiye and Syria,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter.

Two earthquakes jolted Hatay province Monday, just two weeks after major quakes hit the region.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), one of the quakes took place around 8.04 pm local time (1704GMT) in Defne district with a magnitude of 6.4, while the other one, with a magnitude of 5.8, took place three minutes later, with the epicentre in Samandag district.

It came as magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes centred in Kahramanmaras struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Elazig – on Feb 6, killing at least 41,000 people.

-- BERNAMA