Brussels: Europe and the Arabs - agencies
The Syrian government announced the development of an emergency action plan at the national level led by a central operations room operating around the clock, in addition to field teams on the ground, following the emergency meeting chaired by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of the Council of Ministers on Monday morning to discuss the repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria at dawn today. It reached 7.4 degrees, causing hundreds of casualties, a large number of injuries, and the collapse and cracking of dozens of residential buildings.
And the Syrian News Agency "SANA" stated that during the meeting, the initial situation was assessed after the major earthquake, and the most affected governorates and locations were identified, which were concentrated more in the governorates of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, and an emergency action plan was developed at the national level led by the Central Operations Room.
The Syrian Observatory announced that the death toll in Syria as a result of the earthquake has risen to about 400, according to Sky News in an urgent video.
Syria also announced the suspension of trains throughout the country following the earthquake.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense had announced the mobilization of its units, formations and institutions to provide immediate aid and urgent assistance to the people affected by the earthquake in all governorates.
The ministry said - in a statement - "The Ministry of Defense is mobilizing all its units, formations, and institutions in all governorates to provide immediate aid and urgent assistance to the people affected by the earthquake, to search for people trapped under the rubble, to treat the injured, and to remove traces of destruction."
And in the neighboring country, Najib Mikati, head of the Lebanese caretaker government, today, Monday, chairs an emergency meeting of the “National Committee for Disaster and Crisis Management” affiliated with the prime minister’s office to follow up on procedures related to the earthquake that occurred at dawn in Beirut and northern Lebanon and left material damage, and the tremor was the result of a strong earthquake. In Turkey, according to a statement by the Lebanese government.

The damages to the buildings in Lebanon have not been counted so far.

The cabinet session, which was scheduled for this morning, was postponed