Earthquake in Turkey highlights questions over disaster preparedness
Wednesday's earthquake in Duzce has rekindled memories of quakes that struck Turkey in 1999, worrying many about future disasters.
ISTANBUL — Shortly after four o’clock on Wednesday morning a powerful earthquake struck a town east of Istanbul, sparking fears of another hitting the city of 16 million and questions over the country’s preparation levels.
The epicenter of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit the town of Golyaka in Duzce province, 170 kilometers (106 miles) from Istanbul. Some 80 people were injured, the Turkish emergency response agency said. Two people reportedly died from heart attacks.
The tremor was felt in Istanbul and as far away as Edirne near the Greek border and Izmir on the west coast.
The location evoked memories of deadly earthquakes that hit the region in 1999, when some 800 people were killed in Duzce. Three months earlier more than 17,000 died when a 7.6 magnitude tremor struck Kocaeli, just east of Istanbul.
