Istanbul, Turkey (EFE).- Hospitals in Istanbul are treating 151 people who were injured after jumping from buildings in panic during a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that shook Turkey’s largest city on Wednesday.
Gül added that at 3:30 pm local time, nearly three hours after the quake, no structural damage had been detected, apart from incidents caused by widespread panic.
Energy, natural gas, drinking water, and sewage infrastructure remained fully operational, according to the governor.
He also confirmed there were no building collapses across Istanbul, except for the fall of an abandoned structure in the central district of Faith, where no injuries were reported.
Emergency teams continue operations across the city as a precaution.
The earthquake struck at 12:49 pm local time with its epicenter located about some 20 km (around 12 miles) south of Istanbul’s Silivri district, along the seismic fault that runs beneath the Sea of Marmara, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Since the main tremor, nearly 100 aftershocks have been recorded, most below magnitude 3.
Only seven aftershocks exceeded magnitude 4, further unsettling residents.
Istanbul, home to around 16 million people, is Europe’s largest city and sits dangerously close to the North Anatolian Fault, one of the most active and potentially devastating seismic zones in the region.
Experts have long warned that a major earthquake striking Istanbul is inevitable, though its timing remains impossible to predict.
Wednesday’s quake served as a stark reminder of the city’s vulnerability.
Previous major earthquakes in Turkey, including the devastating 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the country’s southeast in Feb. 2023, have claimed tens of thousands of lives and left millions displaced.
Authorities in Istanbul have ramped up earthquake preparedness efforts in recent years, but concerns remain about the resilience of older residential buildings and the city’s dense population.
No casualties have been reported from today’s event, and officials urged residents to remain calm while emergency assessments continue. EFE
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