A 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday, three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region, causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person, authorities said.
More than 100 people were injured as a result of Monday’s earthquake, which was centered around the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, Yunus Sezer, head of the country’s disaster management agency, AFAD, told reporters. More than two dozen buildings collapsed.
A father and daughter trapped under the ruins of a four-story building in Yesilyurt were rescued with injuries. They had entered the damaged building to retrieve belongings.
Elsewhere in Malatya, search and rescue teams sifted through the rubble of two damaged buildings that toppled over some parked cars, HaberTurk reported. It was unclear if anyone was trapped under the debris.
Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.
The quake led to more than 48,000 deaths in both countries as well as the collapse or severe damage of 185,000 buildings in Turkey.
AFAD’s chief urged people not to enter damaged buildings, saying strong aftershocks continued to pose a risk. More than 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region since February 6.
The World Bank said Monday it estimates the massive earthquake caused $34.2 billion in “direct damage” — equivalent to 4% of the country’s 2021 GDP.
The recovery and reconstruction cost could potentially be double that, the World Bank said, adding that GDP losses would also add to the cost of the earthquake.
The World Bank also estimated that 1.25 million people had been left temporarily homeless.
Meanwhile, fans of Turkish football team Besiktas threw stuffed toys onto the pitch during a match on Sunday to support children affected by the earthquake. Toys and winter clothes were thrown into the arena to be donated to children in the earthquake affected areas.