halmahera [Indonesia]: An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck north of Halmahera, Indonesia, on Friday, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said. According to NSC, the earthquake with a depth of 99 km was felt at 01:32:47 IST. NCS tweeted, “Earthquake Magnitude: 6.2 occurred on 24-02-2023, 01:32:47 IST, Latitude: 3.28 & Long: 128.36, Depth: 99 km, Location: North of Halmahera, Indonesia.” No casualty has been reported so far.
Earlier on Monday, at least eight people were injured after two earthquakes rocked Turkey’s southernmost Hatay province on Monday, Anadolu Agency quoted Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Okte as saying.
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According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, citing the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit the defense district of Hatay at around 20.04 night local time (1704 GMT), while a second quake with a magnitude of 5.8 It hit the country three minutes later, with the epicenter in Hatay’s Samdag province.
AFAD issued a warning asking citizens to avoid coastal areas as a precaution against the risk of sea level rise, which could reach 50 centimeters (1.6 ft). Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay called on citizens in the region to stay away from damaged buildings as authorities investigate the affected areas. The agency reported that Turkey still has not come out of the pain of losing at least 41,000 lives and another earthquake hitting the country.
Officials say millions of people who survived the quake are in need of humanitarian aid, with many more left homeless by the freezing temperatures. Defenses are now few and far between. Earlier, Turkey had ended rescue efforts in eight out of ten provinces, nearly two weeks after a major earthquake killed thousands, the country’s disaster agency said.
A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) official has estimated that 1.5 million people in Turkey have been left homeless by the recent earthquakes and that about 500,000 housing units in the country will need to be rebuilt.