An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck Istanbul on Wednesday afternoon, sending people rushing into the streets as buildings shook.
No major damage was reported, but a series of aftershocks was felt for hours after the initial quake hit Turkey. Witnesses reported panic in the moments after the tremor, and about 150 people hurt themselves trying to jump
"Everything started shaking and my friends shouted, ‘earthquake!’", Iona Rae, 18, who was sitting in a cafe in the upmarket Nisantasi district when the earthquake hit told The National. "People were very stressed and panicked straight away, but they have calmed down a bit now."
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the earthquake was about 40km south-west of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara.
Istanbul may have been spared worse because it was a "relatively deep earthquake" that struck about 10km to 13km below the Earth's surface, said Kemal Duran, a former director of the city's earthquake department. “If had been shallower, there would have been damage," he said.
April 23 is a public holiday in Turkey, meaning that many people were at home and not in offices or other workplaces at the time of the quake. Adamjan Kozhanazar, a personal trainer with a studio near Istanbul’s famous Istiklal Avenue shopping street, was sitting on a sofa when the quake struck.
“I'm a religious man, and I thought about Allah straight away,” he said. “Then when it stopped, I called my wife and kids and they were OK, so I felt relaxed again.”
Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority and other authorities have begun surveying for damage and casualties. "I offer my best wishes to our citizens affected by the earthquake," he said. "May God protect our country and our nation from disasters."
The German Research Centre for Geosciences said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2. It struck at a depth of 10km, it said. The tremor lasted about 30 seconds.
Traffic continued to flow in the central Beyoglu district of the city, witnesses said.
The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring regions, reports said. Many people rushed out of their homes in panic.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said on social media that there were no “serious cases” caused by the earthquake.
The Istanbul governor's office said 151 people were injured when they jumped out of buildings but their condition was not life-threatening.
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 at risk.
Earthquake hits Istanbul - in pictures
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An abandoned building in the Fatih municipality is seen partially collapsed after an earthquake hit the Istanbul area in Turkey. Getty Images -
People carrying their belongings flee their homes in Istanbul. Getty Images -
No major damage was reported but a series of aftershocks was felt for hours after the initial earthquake hit. Getty Images -
Worried residents wait in a street in Istanbul. AFP -
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was about 40km south-west of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara. Getty Images -
People sit in a park in Istanbul, hoping to go home soon. EPA
Nagham Mohanna, The National's reporter from Gaza who lives in Istanbul, said she had never experienced such a strong tremor but her experience of the war in her homeland helped her to cope. She stood with her husband and two young children in the doorway of their home in the western Esenyurt district until the initial tremor passed.
"After it finished, we went down and stood outside. It calmed down a bit so we went back inside. I am used to this kind of thing because I am always on high alert - I always have a bag with all the emergency things in it - passports, birth certificates, important things. I always have that bag ready so I took it down with me," she said.
"We went back upstairs and organised ourselves a bit more, and now we are outside waiting in the street. A woman fainted in the street and people tried to help her regain consciousness. People are scared because there are aftershocks that could be strong."
The quake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3. Turkey's disaster and emergency management agency urged residents to stay away from buildings.
Ms Rae said she thought Istanbul, which lies near major fault lines, is not fully prepared for an earthquake. Many buildings were built before stringent construction regulations were brought in following an earthquake that killed at least 17,000 people in 1999.
“There are many shanty towns and unregulated buildings,” she said.
Some areas of the city are widely believed to be safer than others because they are built on firm rock, unlike other areas where sandy earth makes building foundations riskier.
The latest quake comes after a magnitude-7.8 tremor on February 6, 2023 – and a second hours later – that destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern Turkish provinces, leaving more than 53,000 people dead. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighbouring Syria].
