A magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurred in the Sındırgı district of the Balıkesir province in Turkey's northwest at around 10.49 pm local time (GMT+3), according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
Some buildings have collapsed in Sındırgı, images from the epicenter showed.
Balıkesir Governor İsmail Ustaoğlu announced that the collapsed buildings had already been evacuated due to being unsound.
The earthquake was felt not only in Balıkesir's nearby provinces of İzmir and Bursa but also more than 200 kilometers to the north, in İstanbul and Tekirdağ, across the Sea of Marmara.
The quake occurred at a depth of 5.99 kilometers according to AFAD. Geophysics engineer Kemal Duran said on social media that the quake's proximity to the surface was the reason it was felt across a wide area.
AFAD said it has been conducting field surveys to assess potential damage and urged the public to stay away from damaged buildings and to use internet-based messaging and communication to avoid disruptions.
Communication infrastructure in Balıkesir was not damaged during the earthquake, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu confirmed.
Earthquake swarm in Balıkesir
An earthquake of the same magnitude in Sındırgı in August killed one elderly person, as several buildings had collapsed.
Geologist Ramazan Demirtaş drew attention to the ongoing earthquake swarm in Balıkesir since that period. According to the data he shared on social media, over 12,000 earthquakes have occurred in Sındırgı in the 80 days between Aug 8 and Oct 27. Among them, there were 45 quakes with magnitudes between 4 and 5.
Air traffic disrupted in İstanbul
The quake caused a brief disruption to air traffic at both of İstanbul's two airports, İstanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen. Pilots were instructed to perform go-arounds and hold in the air.
At Sabiha Gökçen, the disruption lasted around five minutes, media reported, citing communication recordings from the control tower.
Flight tracking sites showed planes circling above the runway. (VK)
