Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes near Istanbul as scores injured in panic
The quake occurred off Silivri, to the west of Turkey’s biggest city, in the Sea of Marmara, and aftershocks are continuing, Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said.
The city of Istanbul, Turkey, was rattled by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake on April 23. The epicenter of the quake was located off the coast in the Sea of Marmara.
(CNN) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Istanbul on Wednesday leading to scenes of panic in the Turkish metropolis, officials said.
The quake occurred in the Sea of Marmara close to Silivri, which lies around 70 kilometers (40 miles) to the west of the city, and aftershocks are continuing, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).
Istanbul authorities said there had been no loss of life but that 151 people were injured after “jumping from heights due to panic.”
No residential buildings were damaged, the authorities added, but one abandoned building collapsed in the central Fatih District.
Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said the quake lasted a total of 13 seconds at a depth of seven kilometers, with 51 aftershocks recorded so far, the largest of which was of 5.9 magnitude.
Istanbul citizens after evacuating following the earthquake on April 23. (Photo credit: Islam Yakut /Anadolu via Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
“Let’s not let down our guard against possible aftershocks,” Yerlikaya said on X.
Some 6,100 emergency calls were received, he added, most of which were information inquiries.
CNN Turk anchor Meltem BozbeyoÄlu was live on air when the quake struck, with the studio visibly shaking on camera.
People leave buildings in panic and call their loved ones after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday. (Photo credit: Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
In February 2023, Turkey experienced one of its deadliest earthquakes in the last century, when a 7.8 magnitude quake struck 23 kilometers (14.2 miles) east of Nurdagi, in the southern Gaziantep province, at a depth of 24.1 kilometers (14.9 miles).
That quake also hit northern Syria, killing more 50,000 people across both countries.
With two key fault lines in its vicinity – the North Anatolian and the East Anatolian – Turkey is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, a reality that has amplified concern over Istanbul’s earthquake preparedness.
Once the capital of the Byzantine and the Ottoman empires, the densely populated city is home to around 16 million people. It lies precariously close to the North Anatolian fault, which passes within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of Istanbul and through the Sea of Marmara, according to the Geological Society of London.
Historically, that fault has led to several disastrous earthquakes, including a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck the nearby city of Izmit in 1999, killing over 17,000 people, and displacing an estimated 500,000 others.
An earthquake occurs when the Earth’s crust shifts abruptly, with energy radiated out as seismic waves and shaking that can violently impact people, buildings and infrastructure.
Those waves and factors related to the shifting ground determine an earthquake’s magnitude, as measured through 10 on the scale most commonly used to describe quakes. An earthquake that measures between 6 and 6.9 is classified as “strong.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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