LIVE: At Least 7 Dead After Aegean Sea Earthquake Destroys Buildings in Turkey and Greece
Published Date: 10/30/2020
Source: Bloomberg QuickTake: Now
A powerful earthquake collapsed more than a dozen buildings in Turkey’s Aegean port city of Izmir, killing at least six people, with tremors felt as far away as the commercial capital Istanbul. A seventh person died on a Greek island near the Turkish coastline. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said at least 202 people had been injured. About 70 people trapped under rubble in Izmir had been rescued, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The epicenter of the quake, which was given a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey, was 17 kilometers (10 miles) off the coastal town of Seferihisar, Turkey’s disaster management authority said. The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory gave it a magnitude of 6.9. Greek authorities issued a tsunami warning for the island of Samos after the earthquake, state-run ERT reported. People received a text message on their mobile phones to evacuate coastal areas. One high-school student on the island was killed and another remains unconscious after a wall collapsed on them, ERT said. Greek Prime Minster Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences for the “tragic loss of life from the earthquake that struck both our countries,” the Greek premier said in a Twitter post. “Whatever our differences, these are times when our people need to stand together,” he said. The two countries have for weeks been involved in heated disputes over Turkish energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and the divided island of Cyprus. The lira weakened as much as 1.1% to a record low of 8.3829 per dollar. Turkish oil companies Tupras and Socar said their refineries at the Aliaga peninsula, about 120 kilometers north of the epicenter, were continuing without disruption. “Bridges have collapsed and we were unable to enter the town,” Hasim Kavuklu, a hotel worker in the Turkish tourist town of Sigacik, said by phone. “The sea first ebbed and then came back.” Some vessels capsized in the marina at Seferihisar, Kavuklu said, adding there were concerns for fishing boats out at sea at the time of the quake. Istanbul Earthquake Warnings Underlined by Eastern Turkey Tremor Turkey lies in one of the world’s most active seismic zones and is crossed by numerous fault lines. In 1999, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people. (Sept. 3) Watch live as White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany takes questions from reporters in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, September 3, 2020. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at [email protected] QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.