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The magnitude 6.1 quake was centered in the town of Sindirgi in
Balikesir province, according to the Disaster and Emergency
Management agency, AFAD. It struck at 22:48 local time (1948
GMT) at a depth of 5.99 kilometers (3.72 miles.)
The quake, which was followed by several aftershocks, was felt
in Istanbul, and the nearby provinces of Bursa, Manisa and
Izmir.
At least three unoccupied buildings and a two-story shop
collapsed in Sindirgi, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. The
structures had already been damaged in a previous earthquake.
A total of 22 people were injured due to panic-related falls,
which can occur because of the physical and psychological impact
of earthquakes, according to Balikesir's governor, Ismail
Ustaoglu.
“So far, we have not identified any loss of life, but we are
continuing our assessment,” Sindirgi's district administrator
Dogukan Koyuncu told the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Many people remained outdoors too afraid to return to their
homes, Haberturk television reported. As rain began to fall,
Ustaoglu said mosques, schools and sports halls were being kept
open to shelter people reluctant to go back.
Sindirgi also was struck in August by a magnitude 6.1
earthquake, which killed one person and injured dozens of other
people. Since then, the region around Balikesir had been hit by
smaller shocks.
Turkey sits on top of major fault lines, and earthquakes are
frequent.
In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000
people in Turkey and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands
of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another
6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring
Syria.
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