Off The Record
6.2-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Istanbul — Live Footage Shows Terrified Presenter And Panicked Citizens
One of the largest earthquakes to hit the 16 million-person city in recent memory, with a magnitude of 6.2, has struck Istanbul and the surrounding areas.
A major Turkish city and surrounding settlements were rocked by an earthquake in the Sea of Marmara, sending buildings trembling and people running down busy streets.
There was footage of individuals fleeing to safety down a busy street. According to reports, the first tremor lasted 30 seconds before up to 51 aftershocks occurred.
As the earthquake jolted buildings in Istanbul, a news reporter doing a live broadcast for CNN Turkey shuddered and clutched her desk.
As the earthquake struck and rocked the city, people evacuated buildings, though there were no early reports of damage.
On a Turkish public holiday, the earthquake occurred, injuring more than 150 people as they leaped from buildings.
With varying degrees of strength, people reported feeling the earthquake as far away as Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, and Bulgaria. In Sofia, AFP reporters reported experiencing vibrations.
In 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey, destroying tens of thousands of structures in eastern Turkey and Syria and killing over 50,000 people.
Investigations into hundreds of construction contractors began as it became apparent that widespread unsafe building practices may have contributed to the disaster’s impact.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the earthquake was 10 km (6.21 miles) deep and had a magnitude of 6.02.
The epicentre was located 50 miles west of Istanbul, near off the Silivri, a coastal region renowned for its seismic intensity.
A number of aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.3, followed it. Residents were advised by the disaster and emergency management organization to avoid buildings.
Three further earthquakes in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece area were confirmed by Turkey’s disaster service just before 12:00 GMT.
The 6.2 magnitude earthquake was preceded by a 3.9 magnitude tremor at 12.13 local time (10.13 GMT), and it was followed by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake in the Buyukcekmece area at 12.51 local time (10.51 GMT), according to a report by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.
The interior minister subsequently stated that 51 aftershocks had been detected after the 6.2 earthquake.
Local media reported that they sent rescue crews after detecting tremors in nearby areas.
According to the Istanbul governor’s office, 151 people were injured and treated in hospitals after jumping from buildings in fear during the tremor; however, none of them were in critical condition.
While on vacation in Istanbul from London, Sandra D’Souza claimed that she and her spouse were close to the well-known Galata Tower when the earthquake occurred.
“They were having lunch in a local coffee shop’ when we felt the tremor and the building started to shake and sway.”
“Everyone started looking at one another. Thankfully it only lasted a short while and everyone resumed business as usual,” she told MailOnline.
“There were far more people out in the street afterward, however, as we were told there could be aftershocks.”
A shaken-looking decorator who did not want to reveal his identity hurried out of a fourth-floor apartment where he was working close to the city’s Galata Tower, saying, “I just felt an earthquake; I’ve got to get out.”
People in the area were cautioned by Turkey’s AFAD disaster agency not to enter damaged properties.
In a statement posted on social media, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced that there were no “serious cases” from the earthquake.
Although there had been “no negative developments yet,” Kemal Cebi, the mayor of the Kucukcekmece neighborhood in western Istanbul, told local television NTV that traffic was congested and that many structures were already in danger because of the area’s congestion.
“Until now, we have no information about any buildings collapsing,” the governor’s office said, urging people to avoid any structures that might have been damaged in the tremors.
When the quakes first occurred, footage showed giant waves tumbling in the Bosphorus.
Turkey frequently experiences earthquakes due to its two major fault lines.
More than 53,000 people were killed in 11 southern and southeastern Turkish provinces when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on February 6, 2023, and a second, equally strong tremor occurred hours later. The earthquake destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of houses.
In Syria’s northern regions, another 6,000 people lost their lives.
Although that earthquake did not affect Istanbul, the destruction raised concerns about a similar one, with experts pointing to the city’s closeness to fault lines.
Both the national government and municipal governments launched efforts to demolish buildings at risk of collapse and urban reconstruction programs to strengthen buildings at risk to stop harm from any future earthquake.
The most recent earthquake also brought back memories of a 1999 earthquake that killed 17,000 people close to Istanbul.
Environment Minister Murat Kurum reaffirmed his warning in February, predicting a massive earthquake to strike Istanbul by 2030.
Experts predict that the tremor, which could bring down up to 600,000 homes, might affect millions of people in the nation’s largest city.
They estimated that there was a 65% chance that the area, including Istanbul, would experience an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more by 2030.
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