Central Türkiye hit by magnitude 5.5 earthquake, as aftershocks continue and more tremors expected for two years

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) announced that a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Turkey on Saturday as reported by IOL.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) measured the quake at a depth of 10 kilometers, with the Kandilli earthquake monitoring centre stating that the epicentre was located in the district of Bor in the Turkish province of Nigde. The region is located around 350 kilometers west of the Turkish-Syrian border region, which was hit by two major quakes earlier this month.

The Turkish Vice President, Fuat Okta, tweeted that disaster management teams were on-site to assess the aftermath, while Mayor Emrah Ozdemir told state broadcaster TRT that no damage was reported yet. However, at least seven tremors over magnitude four had been recorded in Turkey since Friday evening, including in the quake-hit south, according to AFAD.

The devastating 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes that hit Turkey and Syria three weeks ago resulted in more than 50,000 people losing their lives. Since then, more than 9,500 aftershocks have been recorded, and Orhan Tatar, an AFAD spokesperson, told reporters in Ankara that tremors are expected to continue for the next two years.

Syria also experienced a series of tremors on Saturday, as did neighboring Iraq. AFAD reported that at least 44,000 deaths were recorded in Turkey alone, while over 173,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged, and almost two million locals were made homeless. In Syria, 5,900 deaths were reported, with a war monitor stating that 6,760 people have died so far. The February 6 disasters are estimated to have cost Turkey $84 billion (R1,512 trillion).

Photo by Mahmoud Sulaiman on Unsplash