An earthquake of almost 5 on the Richter scale that shook last night northern Iraq and its capital, Erbil, was also strongly felt in south-eastern Turkey, where significant damage was reported in the border province of Hakkari, according to the local governor, although no casualties have been reported.
According to reports published by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) calculated that the earthquake, which struck last night at 21:03 local time (19:03 CET) at a depth of about 7 km, reached a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, affecting the Turkish districts of Yüksekova, Şemdinli, Derecik and Çukurca, all in the province of Hakkari, on the border with Iraq.
‘A 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Mergasur region of Erbil, Iraq, at 21:03. The earthquake was felt in all our districts, especially in Derecik. According to initial information, there are no serious reports and no dangerous situations have been detected in the cities and towns. However, we have assigned teams to assess the situation in all the towns and villages. May God protect our city and our country from all disasters and earthquakes,’ said Hakkari Governor Ali Çelik in a statement posted on social media.
The earthquake caused scenes of panic among the local population, and although there were no casualties, it did cause damage to several homes, mainly in the district of Yüksekova, where large cracks appeared in many houses and the tremors even caused walls to fall down. Many citizens in this area of Turkey chose to spend the night outdoors for fear of further aftershocks, lighting fires to combat the cold, while mosques announced that they would remain open for those who wanted to seek refuge.
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Edited and reviewed by:
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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