Turkey is rocked by powerful 5.5 magnitude earthquake just weeks after shattered by catastrophe

A powerful earthquake has struck Turkey again today amid the nation’s struggle to recover from a series of disasters this month. 

The 5.5 magnitude earthquake has taken a blow to central Turkey, just days after two further quakes hit the border near Syria. 

At 10.27am, the alarm was raised by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre that an area 40km south of city Aksaray and 18km northeast of Emirgazi was struck by a 10km-deep quake.

This was followed by reports from India Today that the disaster took place in the Niğde province which is nearly 230 miles from Gaziantep – near to the the initial 7.8 quake on February 6.

Today’s disaster comes at a time when both Turkey and Syria had begun work to reconstruct homes for the millions that were displaced by the quakes.

The disaster took place in the Niğde province which is nearly 230 miles from Gaziantep – near to the the initial 7.8 quake on February 6

A powerful earthquake has struck Turkey again today amid the nation’s struggle to recover from a series of disasters this month (file image) 

More than 50,000 have been killed due to the continued destruction, but no casualties have been confirmed as a direct result of today’s incident.

Vice President Fuat Oktay has since tweeted that teams are ‘in the field’ assessing the damage caused but ‘there is no negative situation at the moment’.

He said: ‘Get well soon to all our citizens who were affected by the earthquake in the Bor district of Niğde. 

‘Our teams are in the field, the damage assessment work continues. There is no negative situation at the moment. 

‘May Allah protect our country and our nation from all kinds of disasters.’

On Monday, a new 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria that were laid waste by a massive tremor that occurred two weeks prior.

Officials confirmed that three people died in Monday’s tremor after more buildings collapsed, trapping occupants, and several people were injured in both countries.

The events have unfolded since the first catastrophic 7.8 and a second 7.6 earthquake took place on February 6. 

More than 50,000 have been killed due to the continued destruction, but no casualties have been confirmed as a direct result of today’s incident (file image) 

Nine thousand aftershocks are said to have taken place in Turkey since the deadly quake.

Despite today’s earthquake, a prominent Turkish seismologist has reassured the risk ‘hasn’t increased’.

‘The risk hasn’t increased because we are talking about completely different systems,’ said Dogan Kalafat, the director of the Kandilli Observatory’s Earthquake-Tsunami Monitoring Center in Istanbul.

He added: ‘We must make good use of the time. We must build earthquake-proof houses on solid soil. It’s the most important precaution to take.’