A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck the province of Balıkesir – northwestern Turkey – at approximately 22:48 on Monday (21:48 CET), the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said. The earthquake, whose epicentre was located in the Sındırgı district at a depth of around 6 km, could also be felt strongly in the Marmara and Aegean regions, including cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Tekirdağ, Kocaeli and Sakarya.
According to the Turkish news agency DHA, in the city of Yalova – some 90 km south of Istanbul – people took to the streets in panic as they felt the tremors of the earthquake in Sındırgı, 260 km to the south. Many people remained on the streets and spent the night in the open, wrapped in blankets for shelter, although no injuries or serious damage have been reported in this province.
Although no fatalities have been reported from the earthquake in Balıkesir, three buildings collapsed in the Sındırgı district. Preliminary reports indicate that two of the buildings that collapsed were located on Akhisar Street and a third on Cumhuriyet Square, and housed shops and warehouses. The buildings on Akhisar Street had previously been evacuated after suffering structural damage following the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck the same region on August 10, leaving dozens injured, and were awaiting demolition.
The main shock was followed by more than 26 aftershocks in the first hour alone, the strongest with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale. Doğukan Koyuncu, governor of Sındırgı district, confirmed that damage had been reported to several buildings, but that there were no reports of fatalities so far. “Some structures have been damaged, we are checking the situation in rural areas,” he said.
22 people injured in panic
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya visited the affected area earlier today and met with several residents who sought shelter in cafes in the area amid heavy rains, conveying his condolences to those whose homes had been damaged. The governor of Balıkesir, İsmail Ustaoğlu, reported that 22 people were admitted to hospitals after suffering minor injuries caused by panic, mainly after jumping from balconies; four of them have already been discharged, and none of the injured are life-threatening.
The earthquake was felt strongly in neighbouring provinces such as Izmir, Bursa, Tekirdağ, Kocaeli and Sakarya, but also in Istanbul, some 230 kilometres northeast of the epicentre, although the governor reported that no damage had been reported in the city. Meanwhile, the provincial government of Balıkesir announced a one-day suspension of classes across the province due to the quake.
Seismologists believe that aftershocks could occur over the next two to three months in the region – which has suffered hundreds of earthquakes since the 10 August earthquake – due to a fault rupture with a length of around 30-40 km, with aftershocks that could reach up to magnitude 5; however, they rule out any link to the earthquakes that struck southeast Turkey in February 2023, considered the worst seismic disaster in a century and which left more than 50,000 people dead.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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