Eastern Turkiye hit by 5.9-magnitude earthquake with tremors

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck eastern Turkey’s Malatya province on Wednesday, causing widespread panic, the country’s disaster and emergency authority AFAD said.

More than 40 individuals were being monitored in hospitals, but there were no reports of serious injuries or significant damage.

The earthquake was felt in surrounding provinces such as Diyarbakir, Elazig, Sanliurfa, and Tunceli, as well as certain areas of northern Syria.

People rushed out of homes and offices in fear throughout the region.

More than an hour after the quake struck, many were still waiting in the streets and parks, reluctant to return indoors.

Schools were ordered to close in Malatya and Elazig.

Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said close to 190 people were “affected” by the tremor and 43 people were being kept in hospital under observation.

In Elazig, about a dozen people sustained minor injuries after jumping out of windows in panic, mayor Sahin Serifogullari said.

Reports say over 20 such occurrences occurred in Malatya.

The AFAD said that four structures in Malatya, Sanliurfa, and Elazig were damaged. Four people were rescued unharmed from a partially damaged building in Elazig, according to reports.

Malatya was one of 11 provinces damaged by last year’s strong earthquake in Turkey and northern Syria. Over 53,000 people were slaughtered in Turkey.

Many buildings at risk of collapse had already been either torn down or evacuated after the 2023 earthquake, Malatya governor Seddar Yavuz said.

Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent. More than 17,000 people were also killed in a powerful earthquake in north-western Turkey in 1999.