A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 has shaken Istanbul on Wednesday local time, Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) says.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2 at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Its epicentre was some 40 kilometres south-west of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara.
It was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3, with the AFAD urging residents to stay away from buildings.The earthquake struck at 12:49pm during a public holiday when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets.
The quake forced authorities in Istanbul to cancel the events. Many people also rushed out of their homes in panic.
Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities had not received reports of collapsed buildings. However, he said there had been reports of damage to buildings.
Türkiye’s national broadcaster channel TGRT reported that one person had been injured due to jumping off a balcony during the quake.
The Istanbul governor’s office said there had not been any reports of buildings collapsing, and it called on people to remain calm and not approach buildings that may be damaged.
President Tayyip Erdogan said on X that he was monitoring the situation, and his office issued advice on what people should do in the case of further quakes.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said there were no “serious cases” in the earthquake, in a statement made on its social media accounts.
Kemal Cebi, the mayor of Kucukcekmece district in western Istanbul, told local broadcaster NTV that there were “no negative developments yet”, but he reported that there were traffic jams and that many buildings were already at risk due to the density of the area.
Türkiye is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.
Deadliest earthquake in Türkiye
Two years ago, Türkiye suffered the deadliest and most destructive earthquake in its modern history.
The 7.8-magnitude quake in February 2023 killed more than 55,000 people and injured more than 107,000 in southern Türkiye and northern Syria.
Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, with many still living in temporary housing due to that quake.
The latest tremor also revived memories of a 1999 earthquake near Istanbul that killed 17,000.
