ANKARA, Turkiye – February 21 (ONLINE) The US is “deeply concerned” after two more earthquakes jolted Türkiye’s southernmost province of Hatay, the White House said, promising that it would continue to offer its full support.
“We are deeply concerned by the news of earthquakes impacting areas already devastated in Türkiye and Syria,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“The US will continue to extend our full support,” he added.
Sullivan’s statement follows the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Türkiye, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.
Cavusoglu also accompanied Blinken on Sunday during a visit to the earthquake-ravaged area of southeastern Türkiye.
Two tremors shook Hatay province Monday, just two weeks after major quakes hit the region, the country’s disaster management agency said.
According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), the earthquake took place around 8.04 pm local time (1704GMT) in Defne district with a magnitude of 6.4, while the aftershock, with a magnitude of 5.8, took place three minutes later, with the epicenter in Samandag district.
It came as magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes centered in Kahramanmaras struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye and Elazig – on February 6, killing at least 41,000 people.
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