Fear and panic caused the most injuries in northwest Syria when two new earthquakes hit on Monday evening, just two weeks after the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated large parts of the region including southern Turkey.
At least six people have been killed and hundreds wounded across both countries.
“Many were hurt because of stampedes, panicking and even jumping off buildings,” Oubadah Alwan, a spokesperson for the Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, told Al Jazeera.
The rescue group estimated more than 190 injuries in the opposition-held part of the country that is home to four million.
“Civilians are mostly sleeping out and refusing to go back into their homes despite the cold,” Alwan said. “People are traumatised.”
In a shelter on the outskirts of Idlib, 40-year-old Ismail Abu Raas told Al Jazeera he ran out of his building with his wife and five children as soon as he felt the tremor on Monday.
The streets were filled with people who had also evacuated their houses and shelters. His family remained outside for four to five hours before making their way to a shelter, too afraid to go home.
“We go from plight to plight, from the government strikes to this,” Abu Raas said.
Khadija Ali Omar, 70, recounted feeling the “horror” as bits of the ceiling crumbled as she fled her house with her daughter, who has a disability.
“How we made it out, I don’t know,” she said.
Wassel Aljerk, programme manager for the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association, said many buildings collapsed in Atareb, Salqin and Jandaris.
