İzmir hit by 4.9 magnitude earthquake

İZMİR

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 has struck the western province of İzmir, the country’s third-largest city, while also rattling the neighboring provinces, Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has announced.

“According to our current information, there was no loss of life in the earthquake of 4.9 magnitude that caused a great panic in İzmir. A total of 64 people were affected due to panic... Treatment of seven people continues, while one of whom is in serious condition,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a social media post.

A total of 20 buildings were damaged in the quake, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu informed, adding that a mosque minaret was also destroyed.

After the quake struck 14.4 kilometers (8.1 miles) below the surface in the Buca district, there were 80 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 1.0 to 2.7, AFAD said.

Türkiye is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.
Last October, a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck İzmir, killing at least 115 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Around two dozen buildings collapsed, 114 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were injured in the quake. Some 107 people were rescued alive from the rubble.

In 1999, a magnitude-7.4 tremor hit the industrial province of Kocaeli, leaving nearly 18,000 people dead and around 45,000 others injured.
Nearly 16 million people were affected, with around 200,000 people becoming homeless.