A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit western Turkey late Monday, shaking cities including İstanbul and the Aegean province of İzmir, according to the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
The quake occurred at 10:48 p.m. local time (1948 GMT) and was centered near the hillside town of Sındırgı, where the Demirören news agency (DHA) reported that at least one house had collapsed and several others were damaged.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said emergency teams were deployed immediately after the tremor. “Following the earthquake, which was also felt in the surrounding regions, AFAD and all of its teams have begun working on the ground,” he said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. In August, an earthquake of the same magnitude killed one person and injured several others in Sındırgı.
Turkey sits on multiple active fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. Two quakes in February 2023 in the country’s south killed more than 53,000 people and destroyed much of the ancient city of Antakya, while a 5.8-magnitude tremor in July this year killed one person and injured 69 others in the same region.
© Agence France-Presse