Consecutive earthquakes trigger fear in Turkey’s east

MALATYA

Consecutive earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.1, 3.6 and 4.1 shook the Arguvan district in the eastern province of Malatya in the early hours of March 21. No injuries were reported.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) detected a 3.1-magnitude earthquake around 6:48 a.m. at a depth of seven kilometers.

After this, consecutive earthquakes followed with 3.6 and 4.1 magnitudes, respectively, in roughly four hours with around seven kilometers of depth.

“Nothing unfavorable has been reported to us. If something bad happened, we would know. We are visiting the villages and checking up on the situation,” Mayor Mehmet Kızıldaş told daily Hürriyet.

Malatya Governor Aydın Baruş said some cracks in eight houses were detected in four neighborhoods, but no injuries were reported, Anadolu Agency reported on March 21.

“There is trivial damage in houses such as cracks. We will look into those. Our district governor is also going to the scene of the incident,” Baruş said.

The governor also added that many concussions between magnitudes 1.1 to 3.9 occurred before and after the earthquake.

The quake followed a larger one in the Aegean province of Denizli on March 20.

AFAD said the 5.5-magnitude quake’s epicenter was in the countryside of Acıpayam at a depth of 11.36 kilometers.