Moderate quake felt in Syria and Lebanon

A 5.5 earthquake hit central Syria late Monday, with the shock felt in neighboring Lebanon, official media in both countries said.

AFP journalists in Beirut and Damascus also said they felt the tremor.

Residents descended to the streets in Beirut, fearing a stronger quake that would collapse buildings. In Lebanon, nerves were already on edge due to fears of an escalation in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces that could pull the country into a full-on war.

"An earthquake of 5.5 on the Richter scale struck east of Hama city at 11:56 pm," Syria's state-run SANA news agency said, quoting Raed Ahmed, who heads the National Earthquake Center.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake that struck Syria had a magnitude of 5.0.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said "some residents of Beirut" and other areas "felt a light earthquake at 11:56 pm."

On February 6, 2023, a pre-dawn 7.8-magnitude tremor killed nearly 60,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

According to Damascus, the earthquake killed more than 1,400 people in government-controlled areas of Syria, while more than 4,500 died in areas held by opposition factions in the country's northwest.

On Monday in Syria's Turkish-controlled north, many residents rushed out of their houses in a panic, an AFP correspondent reported.

They were still traumatized from last year's deadly quake that flattened buildings throughout the country's north.

Damascus resident Roba, who did not give her last name, said the latest quake revived painful memories of last year's devastating tremor.

"We panicked and rushed out of the building," said the 35-year-old accountant.

"I was afraid that what happened during the last earthquake would happen again," with entire buildings collapsing on sleeping people, she said.

"We do not have the courage to go back to the 11th floor where we live."

Hama Health Director Maher Younes told the Sham FM radio station that 25 people suffered “minor and moderate injuries” as they panicked and attempted to escape the temblor.