Earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hits western Turkey, Greece [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Al Jazeera

A strong earthquake of magnitude of up to 7.0 struck the Aegean Sea on Friday and was felt in both Turkey and Greece, local and international observatories said.

People flooded to the streets in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir after the earthquake, witnesses said.

Turkish media showed wreckage of a multiple-story building in central Izmir, with people climbing it to reach rescuers. Smoke was seen in several spots in the city.

Images on social media showed water rushing through the streets of Izmir from an apparent sea surge.

Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/30/earthquake-of-magnitude-6-6-shakes-turkeys-aegean-coast

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Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter that six buildings had collapsed in two districts of Izmir province.

He said there were no reports of casualties from six other provinces where the earthquake was felt but said there were small cracks in some buildings.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD)put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.6, while the U.S. Geological Survey said it was 7.0. It struck at around 1150 GMT and was felt along Turkey’s Aegean coast and the northwestern Marmara region, media said.

The epicentre was some 17 km (11 miles) off the coast of the Izmir province, at a depth of 16 km, AFAD said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the depth was 10 km and that the epicentre was 33.5 km off Turkey’s coast.

Residents of the Greek island of Samos, which has a population of about 45,000, were urged to stay away from coastal areas, Eftyhmios Lekkas, head of Greece’s organisation for anti-seismic planning, told Greece’s Skai TV.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-quake/strong-earthquake-strikes-aegean-sea-shaking-turkey-greece-idUKKBN27F1QW