A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook the Turkish city of Duzce and was felt across the region, including Istanbul, in the middle of the night on Wednesday, waking and scaring residents.
This was reported by Daily Sabah.
The quake came 10 days after the country held a nationwide earthquake drill to mark the 23rd anniversary of the tragic 1999 Duji earthquake that lasted 30 seconds and killed 710 people.
The Agency for Emergency Situations (AFAD) reported on its official Twitter account that the epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake was located in the Helyak district of Duzce and occurred at 4:08 a.m. The magnitude was later revised to 6.0 by the Istanbul Observatory. Kandilli University of Bogazici and the Institute for Earthquake Research.
After the earthquake, 74 aftershocks were recorded, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 4.3.
Mayor Duzce Faruk Özlu said there were no reports of casualties and the earthquake caused a power outage in the province. Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu also confirmed that there were no victims and expressed his best wishes to the victims. He noted that emergency services have been put on alert and that teams are continuing to survey the affected region.
It is reported that more than 30 people were injured as a result of the earthquake.
For most local residents, it was a scary moment that reminded them of past disasters. On November 12, 1999, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Duzce that lasted 30 seconds and killed 710 people and injured 2,679.
On Wednesday night, many frightened residents of Duzje ran outside to wait out the earthquake.
The earthquake was also felt in Istanbul. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on his page on the social network: "During the earthquake, the epicenter of which was Düzce and which was felt throughout the region, no negative situation was recorded in Istanbul. We are monitoring the development of events in all provinces where the earthquake was strong Speedy recovery to the victims!"
The Düzgi earthquake followed the 17 August 1999 earthquake in the northwestern city of Izmir in Turkey, which, according to official AFAD figures, had a magnitude of 7.6 aftershocks that killed 18,373 people and injured 23,781.
