Buildings Collapse In Turkey After Fresh Quake; Tremors Felt In Israel

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake was recorded on Monday in Turkey's southern province of Hatay, the hardest region hit by a February 6 tremor which left more than 46,000 dead in the country, the Turkish disaster response agency AFAD said.

There were reports of collapsed buildings and power outages in Turkey. Buildings in Syria's northern Aleppo province also reportedly collapsed, causing multiple casualties there.

The quake hit the southern town of Defne and was strongly felt in Antakya and Adana, 300 miles to the north. Tremors were also felt throughout the Levant in Lebanon, Syria, and central and northern Israel. Local media reported that residents in Egypt and Iraq also felt the earth shake.

The death toll from the quake that struck Turkey and Syria was expected to soar further, with some 264,000 apartments in Turkey destroyed and many still missing as rescuers listen for signs of life under the rubble. As Turkey tries to manage its worst modern disaster, concerns were growing over the victims of the tragedy in Syria, with the World Food Program pressuring authorities in the northwest to stop blocking access to the area as it seeks to help hundreds of thousands of people ravaged by earthquakes.

An AFP journalist reported scenes of panic, adding that the new tremors raised clouds of dust in the devastated town. The walls of badly damaged buildings crumbled while several people, apparently injured, called for help.

According to AFAD, more than 6,000 aftershocks have been recorded since the 7.8-magnitude quake hit Turkey and Syria. 

Earlier this month, Israel was rattled by three earthquakes within a single day, days after the devastating disaster to its north.