An earthquake with 5.5 magnitude shakes central Syria

An earthquake with 5.5 magnitude on the Richter scale struck central Syria late on Monday. It was felt by the residents of many Syrian governorates and neighboring countries.

Syria’s National Center for Earthquakes said that the tremor occurred east of Hama city at 11:56 p.m. at a depth of 10 kilometers.

The residents of many Syrian cities, including Idleb, Homs, Aleppo, Latakia felt the earthquake, prompting many of them to descend to the streets fearing buildings collapse.

Several monitoring stations at the National Center for Earthquake recorded weaker four aftershocks following the major quake.

The aftershocks of the earthquake spilled over into neighboring countries including, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine.

The quake struck Jordan with 5,4 magnitudes on Richter scale. The National Center for Earthquake added that the epicenter of the quake was northern Syria, 350 kilometers from the capital, Amman.

While local Lebanese media reported that many residents felt the tremor, especially in the northern and central regions of the country.

The residents of Palestine also felt the earthquake that struck Syria, as the Hebrew Channel 14 reported that an earthquake was felt in those areas.

For its part, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Department reported that an earthquake occurred in the city of Hama, and its epicenter was 103 kilometers from the Saldağ area in the Turkish province of Hatay.

The area witnessed a state of anxiety among the residents, and civilians descended to the streets after feeling strong tremors and expressed their reluctance to return to their homes for fear of aftershocks.

The Syrian Civil Defense also confirmed that search and rescue teams were mobilized immediately following the earthquake and were deployed in a number of areas to assess possible damage.