Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits western Turkey; buildings collapse, no casualties reported

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 shook western Turkey on Monday, causing at least three buildings that were damaged in a previous tremor to collapse.

According to the magnitude was centered in the town of Sindirgi in Balikesir province and struck at 22:48 local time (1948 GMT) at a depth of 5.99 kilometers (3.72 miles.)



The tremor was felt across several nearby provinces — including Istanbul, Bursa, Manisa, and Izmir — and was followed by multiple aftershocks.


Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said at least three unoccupied buildings and a two-story shop collapsed in Sindirgi. All of them had already been weakened by a previous quake, AP news reported.



Balikesir’s governor, Ismail Ustaoglu, reported that 22 people were injured, mostly due to panic-related falls during the shaking. “So far, we have not identified any loss of life, but we are continuing our assessments,” Sindirgi district administrator Dogukan Koyuncu told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Many residents spent the night outdoors, fearing further tremors. As rain began to fall, local authorities opened mosques, schools, and sports halls to shelter those unwilling to return home, Haberturk television reported.

Sindirgi had been struck by another 6.1-magnitude quake in August, which killed one person and injured dozens. The broader Balikesir region has since experienced a series of smaller aftershocks.

Turkey lies on several major fault lines and experiences frequent seismic activity. In 2023, a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 59,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings.