The Minister of Education and Higher Education in the caretaker government in Lebanon, Abbas al-Halabi, announced the closure of all public and private schools, high schools, vocational schools, and universities on Tuesday, after the earthquake that occurred on Monday evening and was felt by residents of several countries in the region.
Al-Halabi instructed those responsible for managing these institutions to conduct an engineering inspection again on all educational buildings, to ensure that there are no cracks or dangers to the safety of students that were not apparent in the first examination.
The minister called, according to the official National Information Agency in Lebanon, to seek the help of the municipalities, the Engineers Syndicate and the High Commission for Relief, and to report any signs that pose a threat to educational buildings.
And a new earthquake measuring 6.4 degrees, Monday, killed 3 people and injured more than 200 in parts of Turkey, which were devastated by a massive earthquake two weeks ago that killed tens of thousands.
Officials said more buildings collapsed, trapping residents and injuring several people in both Turkey and Syria.
The epicenter of the earthquake, Monday, was in the town of Defne, in the Turkish state of Hatay, which is one of the areas hardest hit by the February 6 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8.
The tremor was felt by the residents of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel, then another earthquake of 5.8 degrees followed.
