Western Turkey Hit By 5.4 Magnitude Earthquake, No People Injured - Authorities

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published January 23, 2020 | 02:40 AM

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit the western Turkish province of Manisa with no people having been injured or killed, provincial Governor Ahmet Deniz said.

According to the Turkish emergency services, the quake was registered at 19:22 GMT on Wednesday between the towns of Kirkagac and Akhisar.

"As for the moment, we have not received any negative reports, no people were injured, or killed. Several buildings were damaged in Akhisar," Deniz said in a statement on late Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the regional authorities told Sputnik that the tremor was followed by several aftershocks.

"The situation in the city [of Manisa] is, in general, calm, there is no panic even though some people fear to return to their homes and are remaining on the streets," the spokesperson added.

Turkey is located in a seismically active zone and often suffers from powerful earthquakes. Two deadliest earthquakes in the country occurred in 115 AD and 526 AD. Both disasters devastated the city of Antioch, leaving some 260,000 and 250,000 people dead, respectively.