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Western Turkey was rocked by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake Monday evening, causing several already weakened buildings to collapse, authorities reported. No fatalities have been confirmed so far.
The quake struck Sindirgi, a town in Balikesir province, at 22:48 local time (19:48 GMT) at a shallow depth of roughly six kilometers (3.7 miles), according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD). Numerous aftershocks followed the main tremor.
Residents in Istanbul and surrounding provinces, including Bursa, Manisa, and Izmir, also felt the earthquake. In Sindirgi, three previously damaged buildings and a two-story commercial property gave way, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
Balikesir Governor Ismail Ustaoglu reported that 22 people were injured while fleeing or due to panic-induced falls, a common hazard during earthquakes. Sindirgi’s district administrator, Dogukan Koyuncu, told Anadolu Agency that authorities are still assessing the situation but have not found any deaths so far.
The area was already affected by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in August, which killed one person and injured dozens. Since then, smaller tremors have continued to shake the region.
Turkey lies along major fault lines, making earthquakes a frequent threat. In 2023, a devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern and southeastern Turkey claimed over 53,000 lives and caused widespread building destruction. The neighboring northern regions of Syria were also affected, with around 6,000 deaths reported.
With information from AP.
