A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck Hama, a city in western Syria, late on Monday, with residents across Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon feeling the tremors that lasted until Tuesday morning.
Syria’s Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that approximately 65 people sustained minor to moderate injuries as they fled following the earthquake.
In Salamiyah, a city located about 30 kilometers east of Hama, residents rushed out into the dark streets, gripped by fear, according to Nasser Douyub, a government employee and resident of the city.
“My son was sleeping, and I don’t know how I grabbed him and ran out of the house,” he told Reuters.
The hospital in Salamiyah treated around 67 cases of people suffering from shock, the Health Ministry added.
Residents reported witnessing a balcony collapse, and ambulances were seen treating individuals who had fainted.
The SANA news agency, citing Suhad Zayedan, head of Salamiyah’s municipal council, reported minor damage, including cracked walls.
The German Research Centre for Geosciences assessed the earthquake’s magnitude as 4.8, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometres. Syria’s National Earthquake Center stated that monitoring stations recorded 13 tremors east of Hama until Tuesday morning.
Jordan’s state news agency reported an aftershock measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, occurring less than an hour after the initial quake.
(information from CNA)
