, prompting residents to rush outdoors but causing no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.){kind=link}
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the Battalgazi district of eastern Turkey’s Malatya province on Wednesday morning, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), prompting residents to rush outdoors but causing no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
AFAD said the earthquake occurred at 9 a.m. local time at a depth of 7.03 kilometers. The tremor was felt in several provinces, including Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Kayseri and Sivas.
The German Research Center for Geosciences put the magnitude at 5.8, saying the quake struck east-central Turkey.
Malatya Governor Seddar Yavuz told TRT Haber that field inspections were continuing and that they had not received any reports of adverse developments.
“We have not received any negative reports so far. Our teams are carrying out field inspections. I wish everyone a speedy recovery. May God protect everyone from such disasters,” Yavuz said.
AFAD also said in a statement on X that there was no adverse situation as of the latest assessment and that field inspections were ongoing.
Schools in Malatya were evacuated as a precaution after the quake, while residents were seen leaving buildings and waiting in open areas. School in the province has been suspended for one day.
Malatya was among the 11 provinces badly affected by the devastating February 6, 2023, earthquakes, which killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and caused widespread destruction across the country’s south and southeast.