Scores Injured As Earthquake Hits Western Turkey

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in western Turkey, but the country’s interior minister claimed there were no early indications of casualties or serious damage.

EMSC said the quake occurred at a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

The epicentre of the tremor, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), was in Golyaka, a district in the northern province of Duzce.

“We almost completed our checks in the villages around Golyaka. There is no severe damage reported; only some barns were wrecked in these places … There was a power cut during the quake but authorities are reinstating power now,” interior minister Suleyman Soylu said on broadcaster TRT Haber.

Fahrettin Koca, the health minister, announced on Twitter that 35 persons had been hurt in Duzce and surrounding districts.

AFAD and media reports later updated the number of injured to 50.

The majority of the injuries were caused by panic after the quake, notably from jumping from balconies or windows. According to Soylu, one of the injured was in critical condition.

The quake happened at 4:08 a.m. (01:08 GMT), and it was felt in Istanbul and Ankara, according to Turkish media.

Dozens of aftershocks were confirmed, including one of magnitude 4.3.

The tremor destroyed the external cladding and parts of the roof of a courthouse in Duzce, Haberturk television reported. A two-story shop collapsed on a tight roadway, among other things, it added.

People gathered at Golkaya’s main square, some wrapped in blankets donated by the disaster management service, according to television footage.

On November 12, 1999, a strong earthquake struck Duzce, killing over 800 people. Another huge temblor struck adjacent Kocaeli province and other regions of northwest Turkey in August of that year, killing 17,000 people.

Officials said about 80 percent of the buildings in the area were rebuilt or fortified following the 1999 earthquakes, which helped minimise damage.

Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

(Aljazeera)