Following the 6.2-magnitude earthquake in the Sea of Marmara, which shook Istanbul and neighboring districts on April 23, there has been a trend of decreasing aftershocks. This was stated by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya in a public statement at the Regional Directorate for Disaster and Emergency Management in Hasdal, TRT Haber reported, BTA reported.
With Yerlikaya in Hasdal were also the Minister of Urban Planning and Climate Change Murat Kurum and the Deputy Chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Efkan Ala.
According to the Interior Minister, after the 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, which shook Istanbul, Tekirdag, Yalova, Sakarya and Bursa, eight aftershocks with magnitudes between 4 and 5.9 on the Richter scale occurred, with seven of them occurring in the first four hours after the main quake.
There have been no aftershocks above the fourth magnitude in the last 12 hours. This clearly shows that the aftershocks show a tendency to subside. The 112 Emergency Call Center received 16,793 calls in 16 hours. A total of 997 of them were for emergency assistance to earthquake victims. We continue to work closely with all disaster groups, he said.
According to Yerlikaya, 51,000 people who sought shelter were accommodated in mosques, and another 50,000 in schools, dormitories and social facilities. Compared to Wednesday, relatively fewer people stayed overnight in parks and gardens yesterday.
“We continue to provide food to those in need under the coordination of the Turkish Red Crescent“, said Yerlikaya, stating that 1,508 employees and volunteers from 41 municipalities and non-governmental organizations are working for this.
Minister Murat Kurum announced that the most damage reports came from the Esenler, Avcilar and Bahçelievler districts in the European part of Istanbul.
We have determined that there was no structural damage in the earthquake and that a total of 83 buildings had minor damage, he said. Meanwhile, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) announced that “aftershocks are expected to decrease and end in the next few weeks”, Haberler reported.
“On April 23, 2025 at 12:49 p.m., a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the town of Silivri on the coast of the Sea of Marmara. The earthquake was felt with relatively strong intensity in districts within a 300 km zone from the epicenter. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 24 km from Silivri, the nearest settlement. During the earthquake, the settlements on the southern coast of Istanbul were shaken by tremors corresponding to magnitude 5, the statement said.
Last night at around 6 p.m., a secondary earthquake with a magnitude of 3.7 on the Richter scale was registered with the epicenter in Silivri at a depth of 7 kilometers, AFAD said on its website.