Aftershocks felt in northern Iraq following Turkey's massive earthquake

After Turkey's devastating earthquakes on Monday, at least two aftershocks hit several provinces in northern Iraq with no casualties reported.   

The most powerful earthquake in nearly a century struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday, killing over 1,300 people while they slept, levelling buildings and causing tremors felt as far away as Iraq and Egypt.

The 7.8-magnitude quake wiped out entire sections of major Turkish cities in a restless region filled with millions of people who fled the civil war in Syria and other conflicts.

The head of Syria's National Earthquake Centre, Raed Ahmed, told pro-government radio that this was "the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the centre".

"Two aftershocks of Turkey's earthquake have been felt in the Kurdistan region, the first one on early Monday was 4.7 points according to the Richter scale, and the second one hit the region in the afternoon, now we are accessing its power," Dilan Rashad, spokesperson of the transportation and communication ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), told The New Arab during a brief phone interview.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties and damages in the Kurdistan region, however, geologists said that today's quakes were stronger than ever in the region's history. We might feel other small aftershocks in the region. We have announced how people can protect themselves during possible quakes," Rashad added.

Panic in the streets of Erbil, Iraq after a 4.3 MAG earthquake reportedly hit the area. People fleeing their homes.

Waiting on confirmation this was a different quake than the one in Turkey but that's what is being reported.pic.twitter.com/Q7sc40wDnB

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 6, 2023

Several people across the three provinces of the Kurdistan region, Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah provinces, reported that they felt at least two aftershocks. 

A Kurdish civilian from the Duhok province of the Kurdistan region, which borders Turkey, told TNA that early today they felt a strong aftershock and fled out of their house in fear.  Video clips posted online show that many locals from Erbil evacuated their houses during these aftershocks. 

The Iraqi Seismic Observatory told the state Iraqi News Agency (INA) that residents of Duhok, Erbil, Nineveh and the capital city of Baghdad recorded aftershocks as a result of the massive earthquake that hit Turkey. 

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at a depth of 17.9 km.

"On February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Turkey near the northern border of Syria. The earthquake was followed 11 minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake resulted from strike-slip faulting at shallow depth," the USGS said.

"Although earthquakes are commonly plotted as single points on a map, they rupture planes that have dimensions. A magnitude 7.8 strike-slip earthquake typically ruptures a fault ~190 km long and ~25 km wide," it added.