473 buildings in Istanbul damaged slightly due to quake: Vice president

ISTANBUL

Some 473 buildings in Istanbul were damaged slightly with cracks appearing in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck the metropolis on Sept. 26, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has said.

“The number of damaged buildings that has been notified to AFAD [Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency] hotline is 473. Most of these buildings, as we have said yesterday, are those that have minor fractures. We have a damage determination workgroup under the Environment and Urbanization Ministry about this. This workgroup is analyzing all of the damaged buildings,” Oktay said during a press conference on Sept. 27.

He also said that managers of 55 schools had notified the authorities of damages at their schools. “All of these have been analyzed. A decision of detailed analysis has been taken for 14 of these schools. And these 14 schools have been given a day off. In the rest of the 7,046 schools [in Istanbul], there has been no finding of any evidence that will lead to a recess in education,” he said.

He also said that a total of 34 people were injured during the earthquake, 24 of whom have been so far discharged, with only 10 remaining under hospital care.

Some 188 aftershocks, the strongest with a magnitude 4.1, were recorded in the hours after the quake, Oktay said.

The tremors did not cause any serious damage to infrastructure, he said.

Aftershocks prompted many Istanbulites to spend the night in open areas and parks.