In the Middle East of Turkey the earth shook with a magnitude of 6.8. The hypocenter was at a depth of 15 km. The epicenter manifested itself 18 km north of the village Çüngü, where about 5500 people live. The earth tremor occurred at 17.55 UCT. Reports on the damage balance are not yet available. However, earthquakes of this magnitude may have caused great damage to the old buildings in the rural area of Anatolia. There were and are aftershocks.
Update 25.01.2020: The fears that there would be far more victims than last night have come true. Meanwhile, the media are reporting at least 21 fatalities and almost 1000 injured. 30 people are still missing and are very likely buried under rubble. The province of Elazig in the district of Sivrice has been particularly badly affected. The quake was practically felt in large parts of Turkey and in neighbouring countries. Even in Israel the earthquake was still felt.
The quake occurred at the East Anatolian Fault Zone. It forms a border between the Anatolian Plate and the Arab Plate. It is one of the most dangerous earthquake zones. Lighter earthquakes are commonplace here. One of the last stronger earthquakes occurred in 2010 and had a magnitude of 6.0.
