Powerful 5.3 magnitude earthquake rocks eastern Turkey just weeks after deadly quake killed 116
- A 5.3 magnitude tremor struck the Elazig province in eastern Turkey on Sunday
- There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage after the earthquake
- It comes weeks after a deadly quake in Izmir toppled buildings killing 166 people
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake has shaken eastern Turkey on Sunday morning, just weeks after a deadly quake killed 116 people.
The powerful quake rocked the Elazig province and several neighbouring provinces in eastern Turkey.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu tweeted there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
‘There is nothing negative so far. All our teams continue their examinations on the ground,’ Mr Soylu tweeted.
A 5.3 magnitude tremor struck the Elazig province in eastern Turkey at 9.37am on Sunday morning. Pictured: Rescue workers search for survivors last month after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Izmir, Turkey
The quake struck at 9.37am local time and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said it was felt in several neighboring provinces.
Turkish media said the earthquake was also felt in Malatya, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa provinces.
Turkey is crisscrossed by major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.
The powerful quake rocked the Elazig province and several neighbouring provinces but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage
In January, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Elazig, killing 41 people in that province and neighboring Malatya.
Another deadly 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the western port city of Izmir in October, toppling buildings and killing 116 people.
It also triggered a small tsunami which flooded streets in Seferihisar, Turkey.
Turkey’s worst quake in decades came in 1999, when a pair of strong earthquakes struck northwest Turkey with a magnitude of 7.6, killing around 18,000 people.