Families in Aleppo Sleep on Streets Fearing Aftershocks
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Following the catastrophic earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday at dawn, the majority of the people of Aleppo spent their first night in mosques, churches, cars, sidewalks, streets, and parks amid the cold weather fearing more violent earthquakes.
Manal Hamza, 35, from al-Iza’a neighborhood in Aleppo, said she and her family spent the night in their car on a highway in western Aleppo fearing the collapse of their building especially since it sustained cracks after the earthquake.
“We fear new aftershocks and the collapse of the building if we stay at home,” she added.
An exclusive source in the Syrian Civil Defense in Aleppo told North Press that so far 52 buildings have been collapsed following the earthquake in a provisional count.
Hamza described the moment of terror she and her family lived during the earthquake “I felt like it was the apocalypse. We did not know what to do, we got out of the building which was shaking heavily and was damaged in some parts.”
Other families spent the night in temporary shelters set up by the Syrian government on Monday.
Many footages were circulated on social media showing the collapse of several buildings in Aleppo neighborhoods and people flooding to the streets.