The jolt has left at least 22 people with injuries in a region east of Istanbul, officials said
© USGS
A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake has rocked Türkiye’s northwestern Duzce province, injuring several people – including one said to be in serious condition – and knocking out electricity across the region.
The quake struck early on Wednesday morning and centered on the town of Golkaya, but was felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east in Istanbul, the capital city, according to Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. The agency said the first quake was followed by at least 35 smaller aftershocks, triggering panic as many people rushed out of buildings in the earthquake-prone region.
There were no immediate reports of major damage.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told local media that 22 people were being treated at hospitals, some of whom were said to have leapt from balconies or windows, fearing their buildings might collapse. He added that at least one person was in “serious condition,” though offered few other details about those injured.
Footage showed people and children panicking as they poured onto the streets after an earthquake with a magnitude 5.9 struck a town in Turkey’s northwest Düzce province. #Earthquake#deprem#sakaryahttps://t.co/xnofA01L3Bpic.twitter.com/bJdyu3T8Ut
— ILKHA (@IlkhaAgency) November 23, 2022
Düzce'deki #deprem sonrası Düzce Adliyesi'nde hasar meydana geldi. https://t.co/43gTdwfenMpic.twitter.com/gnHAKuMZyv
— TGRT HABER (@tgrthabertv) November 23, 2022
While the US Geological Survey recorded a 6.1-magnitude event, local disaster officials placed the primary quake at a slightly lower 5.9, while the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported 6.0-magnitude. It struck at a depth between 2 and 10 kilometers (1.2 to 6.2 miles).
A massive quake in Duzce province killed some 800 people in 1999, which was preceded by another tremor in nearby Kocaeli province the same year, which left 17,000 dead.
Local officials said most of the buildings destroyed or damaged in the 1999 quakes were fortified when they were rebuilt, suggesting that may have helped to reduce damage in Wednesday’s jolts.
