Strong Earthquake Hits Turkey, Causing Buildings to Collapse
ANKARA, Türkiye: A powerful earthquake shook western Türkiye on Monday, causing the collapse of at least three buildings damaged in the previous tremor, officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
According to the statement made by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), a 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in Sındırgı district of Balıkesir. It impacted at 22:48 local time (1948 GMT) from a depth of 5.99 kilometers (3.72 mi).
The earthquake, which was followed by numerous aftershocks, was felt in the surrounding provinces of Bursa, Manisa and Izmir, as well as in Istanbul.
Minister of Internal Affairs Ali Yerlikaya said that at least three empty buildings and a two-storey shop collapsed in Sındırgı. The structures were also damaged in the previous earthquake.
Balıkesir Governor İsmail Ustaoğlu said that a total of 22 people were injured due to falls due to panic caused by the physical and psychological effects of the earthquake.
Sındırgı District Governor Doğukan Koyuncu, in his statement to the AA correspondent, said, “We have not detected any loss of life so far, but we continue our evaluations.”
According to Habertürk television, many people stayed outside, afraid to return to their homes. Ustaoğlu said that when it started to rain, mosques, schools and gyms were kept open to provide shelter for people who did not want to return.
One person died and dozens of people were injured in the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Sındırgı in August. Since then, the region around Balıkesir has been shaken by smaller shocks.
Türkiye is located on major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.
In the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Türkiye in 2023, more than 53 thousand people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged in 11 provinces in the south and southeast. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.
