A large earthquake that hit off Turkey’s Aegean coast Friday morning has led to collapsed buildings and tsunami concerns for the region.
At least four people are dead and more than 120 people have been reported injured following the 7.0 magnitude tremor recorded in the Aegean Sea by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center off the coast of Turkey’s western Izmir province. The quake hit near the Greek island of Somos and was felt in Istanbul over 400 miles away.
BREAKING: A strong earthquake of magnitude 7 has hit holiday hotspots in Turkey and Greece.
The epicentre of the tremor was in the Aegean Sea some 11 miles (17 km) off the coast of Turkey’s Izmir province, at a depth of 10 miles (16km).
More here: https://t.co/rZ6HyAlLzq pic.twitter.com/QTC0b3W9OR
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) October 30, 2020
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency urged residents along coastal regions to seek shelter, and Efthymios Lekkas, head of Greece’s organization for anti-seismic planning, told Skai TV that “it’s difficult to have a bigger” earthquake than the one experienced today.
“It was a very big earthquake,” Lekkas added.
A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Greece and Turkey, causing buildings to collapse and a sea surge that flooded streets in the Turkish resort city of Izmir. pic.twitter.com/OblehOV1H8
— DW News (@dwnews) October 30, 2020
Turkish television broadcast footage of multistory buildings collapsing in Izmir following the quake, and unverified videos showed high rushing waters in the area. More unverified videos circulating on social media Friday morning showed capsized boats as residents fled in fear of a possible tsunami.
More than 17,000 people perished when a massive earthquake hit off the coast of Izmir in 1997.
