A series of earthquakes, including a magnificent 6.2 tremor Struck near Istanbul, trembling buildings in the largest city in Turkey and encouraging people to flee apartments.
There was no immediate report of victims or wider damage, but Istanbul officials said they were checking the buildings and warned people to stay away from the potentially damaged sites.
The largest earthquake on Wednesday hit local time (09:49 GMT) at 12:49 p.m. at a depth of 6.92 km (4.3 miles), Turkey’s emergency services said.
The epicenter of the 6.2 coarse tremor was located along the Côte de la Mer de Marmara, in the Silivri region about 80 km (50 miles) west of Istanbul.
Turkish officials reported two other smaller earthquakes, while the aftershocks were also recorded.
Istanbul residents said a more important earthquake was one of the strongest they had felt for years.
People have reported lamps and other furniture crashing into their house.
Selva Demiralp, professor of economics at the University of Koç, told the BBC that she was with her family in skyscrapers when the earthquake struck and it was “quite frightening”.
“In one way or another, in the middle of the earthquake, we felt a deep feeling of comfort-because the whole family was together,” she said.
“We are safe, it seems that there is no damage in the buildings,” she said. But she added that people were nervous as to whether the earthquake “was a precious himself” and that “real is on the way”.
South Turkey was devastated by two giant earthquakes in 2023, which made more than 55,000 lives.
Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey and which houses 16 million people – a fifth of the country’s residents. The city is only 20 km north of the Northern Anatolian Faille line.
Additional Mallory Moench reports
