Barran Press
A powerful earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck central Syria on Monday evening, killing an elderly woman and injuring around 25 people in Hama province. The tremor was felt by residents in several provinces.
According to the Syrian regime's news agency, SANA, the elderly woman died in the village of Al-Raba in the northern countryside of Salamiyah due to panic caused by the earthquake.
Dr. Osama Malham, director of the National Salamiyah Hospital, told SANA that 25 people were taken to the hospital with injuries and bruises sustained from rushing out of their homes and falling to the ground during the tremor. He added that there were also several cases of panic and nervous breakdowns, noting that the injured received necessary medical care.
The National Earthquake Center in Syria stated that the earthquake struck at 11:56 PM local time, 28 km east of Hama city, at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The center reported that 13 aftershocks occurred east of Hama city until 8 AM on Tuesday.
The main earthquake was attributed to the accumulation of energy over time within the secondary faults connected to the Dead Sea Fault, while the subsequent aftershocks were weaker.
Residents of several Syrian cities, including Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and Latakia, felt the earthquake, prompting many to flee their homes into the streets fearing building collapses. There were no reports of casualties in these provinces.
The German Research Center for Geosciences reported that an earthquake of around 4.8 magnitude struck the Jordan-Syria region on Monday, according to Reuters.
The center stated that the earthquake was at a depth of 10 kilometers. It initially reported a magnitude of 5.46 but revised it down after a few minutes.
Reporters for Al-Hurra website reported that residents of some areas in Lebanon felt the earthquake, while Volcano Discovery website stated that the epicenter was located about 21 kilometers east of Hama in Syria.
People in the city of Azaz in northern Syria said the new earthquake brought back memories of the deadly earthquake that struck last year, killing tens of thousands in northern Syria and neighboring Turkey.
The Syrian Civil Defense, operating in areas controlled by the opposition, said it had deployed its personnel in several areas to respond to any potential emergency but had not received reports of any damage.