Earthquakes affected over 175K families in Syria: Report

DAMASCUS: The massive earthquakes that jolted Syria and Turkey in February have affected 1,75,512 families in Syria's northwestern coastal province of Latakia, a report revealed.

The report by the Latakia Operation Room, which was established to look into the aftermath of the tremors, revealed on Monday that the quakes affected 8,07,355 people from 1,75,512 families.

According to the report, among the 97,777 buildings that have been checked following the quakes, 54,004 were found to be safe, 17,396 needed fix, 1,554 needed to be rebuilt, 105 were already destroyed, and 15 were demolished in order to be rebuilt later, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the 850 schools that have been examined, 213 were safe, 14 were safe but their surroundings were unsafe, and 388 schools were safe but needed some maintenance work, it said, adding 61 schools had already been rehabilitated after the quakes.

A total of 12 temporary shelters were set up in Latakia to house the displaced families, the report said, noting that 616 families have been sheltered while 684 others have moved into rented apartments.