An earthquake centered beneath the Aegean Sea shook cities and islands in Turkey and Greece on yesterday, causing panic in some areas but no injuries or damage have been reported so far, officials said.
The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, occurred at 4:16 p.m. (1416 GMT) off the coast from Turkey’s northwestern Canakkale province.
The earthquake was felt in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Izmir also in Selçuk, officials said. “It was one of the strongest earthquakes we have experienced,” Mustafa Mutay, the mayor of the Turkish island of Bozcaada off Canakkale, told the state-run Anadolu Agency. “There was some panic during the quake, but things have returned to normal and there is no damage.”
30 seconds
The earthquake lasted about 30 seconds, Çanakkale Gov. Azim Tuna said.
“It moved horizontally, and lasted about 30 seconds,” Tuna said. “Çanakkale is a city that is at great risk for earthquakes.”
The Athens Geodynamic Institute in Greece put the magnitude at 5.8 and said the temblor occurred between the Greek islands of Lemnos and Lesvos, near the Turkish coast. The quake was mildly felt in Athens.
The U.S. Geological Survey gave a preliminary magnitude of 5.7.
Earthquakes are common in Turkey and Greece, both of which lie atop active fault lines.
A few facts on Earthquakes
Many natural events such as volcanic eruptions or meteor impacts can cause an earthquake, but the majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are caused by movements of the earth’s plates.
20 constantly moving plates make up the surface of the earth. As the plates move they put force on themselves and each other, which, when large enough, causes the crust to break. When the break occurs, the stress is released as energy which moves through the Earth in the form of waves, which we feel and call an earthquake.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than three million earthquakes occur every year. That’s about 8,000 a day or one every 11 seconds! The vast majority of these quakes are extremely weak.
Almost 80 percent of all the planet’s earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, called the “Ring of Fire,” a region that encircles the Pacific Ocean and is home to 452 volcanoes, that’s over 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes.
In case of a quake
An earthquake survival kit should include:
Nonperishable food and drinking water
Manual can opener
Water purification kit
First aid kit
Prescription medications
Cash
Heated Hibernation System
Torch and spare batteries
Portable radio with extra batteries
Blankets
Basic hygiene supplies, e.g. soap, toothpaste, etc
Source Hürriyet.
