6.2-magnitude earthquake hits Istanbul

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul on Wednesday, with the impact felt across Turkey’s largest city, prompting residents to rush onto the streets.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, officials said, though the quake was followed by at least eight aftershocks, according to Turkey’s AFAD disaster management agency.

“An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude occurred in Silivri, Sea of Marmara, Istanbul,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, adding that it was felt in surrounding provinces.

The initial quake struck at 12:49 p.m. (0949 GMT) at a depth of 6.92 kilometres beneath the sea, which lies to the south of the city, AFAD reported.

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It was followed by eight tremors with magnitudes ranging from 3.5 to 5.9.
As buildings shook, people fled onto the streets, where crowds of concerned residents stared at their mobile phones for updates or made calls, an AFP correspondent observed.

“I just felt the earthquake, I’ve got to get out,” said a visibly shaken decorator who was working in a fourth-storey apartment near the city’s Galata Tower. He declined to give his name.

Footage shared by the state news agency Anadolu showed the minaret of a mosque in the Beylikduzu district—just west of the historic peninsula—swaying during the initial tremor.

However, there were no reports of buildings collapsing in the sprawling city of 16 million people, Yerlikaya told TRT public television.

“Until now, nobody has called the emergency line to report their house collapsing,” he said, though the Istanbul governor’s office advised residents to avoid any structures that appeared damaged.

Footage on Turkey’s NTV television showed one three-storey building collapsed in the Fatih district, also near the historic peninsula. The broadcaster said the building was abandoned and had been empty for a decade.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “following the developments closely”.

“We all panicked and just ran. There’s absolutely nothing else we can do,” said Yusuf, a street vendor.

The tremors were also felt as far away as Bulgaria, according to AFP journalists in the capital, Sofia.

Silivri, located on the megacity’s western outskirts, has recently made headlines as the location of the jail where Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained following a corruption probe that critics say is politically motivated.

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Also held at the Silivri jail are a number of students detained during mass protests triggered by the move against Imamoglu, Erdogan’s leading political rival.

Although they felt the quake, none were harmed, according to the Parents Solidarity Network, which posted on X.

“The earthquake in Istanbul was most strongly felt in Silivri, but our children are fine. There is no problem at the prison—no parent should worry,” the group wrote.

The last noticeable tremor in Istanbul occurred in mid-November, causing brief panic but no injuries or damage.

Turkish and foreign seismologists agree that Istanbul is likely to be struck by a major earthquake in the coming decades, given its proximity, less than 20 kilometres to the North Anatolian fault line.

Around 20,000 people were killed in two massive earthquakes that devastated Turkey’s densely populated northwest, including parts of Istanbul, in 1999, when the eastern strand of the fault line ruptured.

AFP