Earthquake today: 6.2 magnitude tremors shakes Istanbul, buildings evacuated

Istanbul Earthquake: A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Istanbul in Turkey on Wednesday, April 23, shaking buildings and prompting a quick evacuation, reported the news agency Reuters, citing Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD). 

According to the report, the local people were spotted leaving their buildings as the earthquake hit the city, shaking the buildings and structures.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.02 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10 km or 6.21 miles, according to the news report.

Wednesday's earthquake was also noted as one of the strongest earthquakes the city has ever witnessed in recent years. The population of Istanbul stands at nearly 16 million. 

Earthquake Damage

According to the agency report, there were no immediate reports of damage were reported when the earthquake hit European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus Strait.

The earthquake hit the city at 12:49 (0949 GMT) in the area of Silivri, which is 80 kilometres West of Istanbul, as per the report.

The initial inspections did not reveal any damage or serious injury to public health.

“An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude occurred in Silivri, Sea of Marmara, Istanbul,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, cited the news agency AFP. 

The interior minister also said that there were more than 50 aftershocks, including some very powerful after the major hit on Wednesday.

“By 3:12 pm (1212 GMT), 51 aftershocks -- the largest of which was 5.9 magnitude -- had been recorded,” he said, as per the agency report.

People were fleeing from their houses as soon as the ground started to shake beneath them.

“I just felt an earthquake, I've got to get out,” said a shaken-looking decorator, cited in the news report. The decorator went running out of their fourth-storey apartment near the city's Galata Tower.

Death toll?

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said that nobody died on Wednesday; however, many were receiving treatment at the local hospitals.

“151 people injured when they jumped or tried to jump from a height in panic,” he said, reassuring that the injuries were not life-threatening, according to the agency's report.

“There is no destruction to residential buildings in the city but an abandoned building collapsed in Fatih District without causing any deaths or injuries,” said Gul in a post, cited in the report.