Magnitude-5.4 earthquake hits eastern Turkey

VAN

A magnitude-5.4 earthquake hit Turkey’s eastern province of Van, the country’s disaster agency said.

The National Disaster Management Agency (AFAD) said the quake occurred at 1.03 p.m. local time in the Özalp district at 6.9 kilometers beneath the ground.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Some houses were damaged due to the tremors, and damage assessment studies are ongoing, said Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez.

“There are moderate and heavily damaged houses in 15 neighborhoods in Özalp, Saray and Gürpınar districts. Five of our citizens were slightly injured,” Bilmez said, underlining that nobody got trapped under debris.

The condition of those injured is stable, who are under treatment at the Özalp State Hospital.

No casualties have been reported so far.Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also made a statement on Twitter later, saying that only partial damage to a single building had been reported.

Tremors caused panic in the province, where people were seen running out of buildings.

The earthquake was also felt in neighboring provinces and districts., according to reports.

The province is situated in seismically active geography, like many other parts of Turkey.

Nine people died in February in Van’s Başkale district when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the area on Turkey’s border with Iran.