Tremor felt throughout the region and as far south as Israel
Zafrir RinatJan 24, 2020 9:22 PM
A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 14 and wounding another 315, according to the Turkish government, with the number of casulaties likely to rise.
Turkish aid organisations said they were sending teams to the area hit by the tremor, which was also felt in several neighbouring countries.
skip – Damage Elazig
In pictures: First images out of Turkey’s Elazig show damage after 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits the eastern province pic.twitter.com/mqLon9C7pA
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 24, 2020
The quake had a magnitude of 6.9 and occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu described it as “serious tremor” that had caused damage to buildings. According to early reports, four or five buildings were damaged in the town of Sivrice.
The quake’s epicentre was in Elazig province, about 550 km (340 miles) east of the capital, Ankara.
skip – Felt reports earthquake Elazig
Map of felt reports received so far following the #earthquake M6.9 in Eastern Turkey 40 min ago pic.twitter.com/RXQx9Vkbw3
— EMSC (@LastQuake) January 24, 2020
State media in neighbouring Syria and Iran both reported the earthquake was felt in those countries. Local media in Lebanon said the cities of Beirut and Tripoli also felt the quake.
Residents in Israel also reported feeling the tremor. The seismology division at the Geophysical Institute of Israel recorded the event as significant. There were no reports of casualties or property damage.
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Turkey has a history of powerful earthquakes. More than 17,000 people were killed in August 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude quake struck the western city of Izmit, 90 km (55 miles) southeast of Istanbul. About 500,000 people were made homeless.
In 2011 an earthquake struck the eastern city of Van and town of Ercis, some 100 km (60 miles) to the north, killing at least 523 people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Content retrieved from: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/turkey/at-least-four-dead-after-strong-earthquake-strikes-eastern-turkey-1.8441881.
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