5.1-magnitude earthquake strikes Turkey’s Izmir, no casualties

Image credit: IANS


A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Turkey’s western province of Izmir on Tuesday, with no casualties reported.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced on its website that the earthquake occurred off Izmir’s Urla district in the Aegean Sea at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).

“After the earthquake occurred off Urla, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” AFAD tweeted, adding that “the field scanning work” is currently continuing in the region.

“The quake accompanied with heavy rainfall and strong wind caused panic,” Yasemin Boncuk, a 43-year-old Izmir resident, told Xinhua over the phone. “I jumped out of the bed in fear,” he said.

According to AFAD, nine minutes after the first tremor, a 4.3-magnitude large aftershock occurred, Xinhua news agency reported.

A 6.6-magnitude quake hit the Aegean Sea off Izmir in October last year, killing 117 people and injuring over 1,000.