People flock to streets as earthquake hits Turkey’s south

MERSİN – Doğan News Agency

People took to the streets, with many of them rushing to hospitals, after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey’s Mediterranean Sea at 1:00 a.m. on July 30 off the Mersin bay and was felt in the southern provinces of Mersin, Adana, Hatay and Osmaniye, with no casualties reported.

The magnitude of the 10-minute-long earthquake was announced to be 5.2 by the Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute.

“Since the expected 4.0-magnitude-aftershocks did not come following the 5.2-magnitude earthquake, this may pose a problem,” said Melih Baki, the head of the Chamber of Geophysical Engineers, a sub-organization of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects.

Initial reports said the earthquake did not cause any physical damage, while many people going to hospitals and calling the 112 Emergency Service after the shaking, locals reported.

The earthquake also scared Syrian migrants in the region as well; many of them flocked to parks and streets to feel safer.