Strong earthquake hits İzmir province

* Photos: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

A strong earthquake hit Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir at 2.51 p.m. today (October 30). The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the official disaster agency of the country, has announced that the 6.6-magnitude quake occurred at a depth of 16.54 kilometers (~10 miles).

Boğaziçi University's Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, on the other hand, first announced the magnitude as 6.8. Then, the Institute has revised the magnitude as 6.9.

According to the latest statement of the AFAD next day, as of 9.45 a.m. on October 31, 25 people have lost their lives and 804 people have been wounded in İzmir (743) as well as in the neighboring provinces of Manisa (5), Balıkesir (2) and Aydın (54). While the search and rescue efforts have been reportedly completed in eight damaged/collapsed buildings, the efforts are still ongoing in the remaining nine buildings.  

The AFAD has also said that as of 4 a.m. on October 31, 341 aftershocks shook the region, 31 of these aftershocks were higher than 4-magnitude.

Kandilli: A fault line of 30-40 kilometers ruptured

Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute Director Haluk Özener also made a statement about the earthquke at 5.10 p.m. today and said, "The magnitude of the earthquake is 6.9. According to initial findings, a fault line of 30-40 kilometers has ruptured." Özener has announced the intensity of the earthquake as 7.0.

He also indicated that 21 aftershocks took place after the earthquake and aftershocks at the magnitude of 6 could be expected.

Sea overflowed its banks 

While the earthquake reportedly continued for 15 seconds, it was also felt in the neighboring cities, including İstanbul. 

Occuring off the coast off Seferihisar, the strong earthquake has caused the sea to overflow its banks in the district.

Shortly after the earthquake, Buğra Gökçe, the Secretary General of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, told news channel NTV that some houses in the city had been destroyed in the tremor.

Governor: 70 people rescued alive

At 5 p.m., Governor of İzmir Yavuz Selim Köşger made a statement and announced that around 70 citizens had been rescued alive from the buildings. Governor Köşger warned citizens to not use the traffic as there was currently a high traffic congestion in the city. He also called on people to not stand on collapsed buildings if they were not professionals.

4 people died, 120 people wounded

In a statement released by the AFAD at 4.50 p.m. today, it was announced that four people have lost their lives and 120 people have been wounded in İzmir earthquake, according to initial reports.

Search-rescue efforts: 3 people rescued

As of 4.45 p.m. today, three people had been rescued from the debris of a collapsed nine-storey building in Bayraklı district. 

On his way to İzmir together with Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum previously announced that "there were people who had been trapped under the debris of five demolished buildings in the province."

Neighborhood head: One citizen has lost her life

Yaşar Keleş, the Head of Sığacık Neighborhood, indicated that an old woman could not escape from water and lost her life. The identity of the deceased woman has not yet been announced.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu indicated that six buildings in İzmir had been reportedly destroyed by the earthquake, while Turkey's other western provinces, including Uşak, Denizli, Manisa, Balıkesir, Aydın and Muğla also saw small damages to some buildings due to the earthquake.

İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, on the other hand, announced that they had so far received nearly 20 reports about collapsed buildings.

İstanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya has said the quake was also felt in Istanbul, but no "negativities" had been reported.

#DEPREM
EGE DENIZI https://t.co/291sqKc2Hx
30.10.2020, 14:51:25 TSİ
Büyüklük: 6.8
Derinlik: 11.8 km#Kandilli

— Kandilli Rasathanesi (@Kandilli_info) October 30, 2020

Collapsed buildings in Samos island of Greece

As reported by the AA, a large scale earthquake hit the eastern Aegean island of Samos today. The epicenter of the earthquake was recorded 19 kilometers (11.8 miles) northwest from the island's center and its depth was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), Greece's National Observatory of Athens Geodynamic Institute has reported.

The quake was recorded at 1.51 pm local time in Greece and it sent reverberations that were also felt in the capital city of Athens. The institute initially put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6 but later revised it to 6.7.

The tremor also jolted Turkey's Aegean region, according to Greece's disaster agency. As reported by the media in Greece, there are also some buildings collapsed in Samos Island of Greece:

 (PT/SD)