Powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Instanbul

A severe 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday.

Turkey’s Afad disaster agency, in a broadcast monitored by Diaspora Digital Media, said, described it as one of the strongest quakes to strike the city in recent times.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but buildings were evacuated as the quake shook the historic city.

Some shops closed after the quake struck on the European side of the city.

The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 12.49pm (10.49am Irish time), was in the area of Silivri, about 80km to the west of Istanbul. It was at a depth of 6.92km, Afad said.

Transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said initial inspections did not reveal any damage or adverse conditions on highways, airports, trains or subways.

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 Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on X (formerly Twitter) he was monitoring the situation and his office issued advice on what people should do in the case of further quakes.

Two years ago, Turkey suffered the deadliest and most destructive earthquake in its modern history. That 7.8-magnitude quake in February 2023 killed more than 55,000 people and injured more than 107,000 in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, with many still living in temporary housing as a result of that quake.

The latest tremor also revived memories of a 1999 earthquake near Istanbul that killed 17,000. The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the latest earthquake had a magnitude 6.02. It was at a depth of 10km, GFZ said.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed his “full solidarity” with Türkiye following a powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul in the afternoon local time.

“May I, first of all, express to the government and the people of Türkiye my full solidarity in these difficult moments,” Guterres said ahead of his press conference at UN headquarters in New York on the climate crisis.

A powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye’s Istanbul on Wednesday, injuring 151 people in panic-driven incidents, none of whom suffered life-threatening wounds, officials said.

The earthquake’s epicenter was in Istanbul’s Silivri district, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

The quake hit at 12.49 local time (0949 GMT) and was felt strongly across Istanbul, home to over 15 million people, and neighboring provinces, prompting residents to flee buildings in fear.

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