A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit the southeastern province of Adıyaman yesterday, the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute at Boğaziçi University announced.
The epicenter of the quake was reported to be the Samsat district of Adıyaman at around 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, occurring at 2:07 p.m. local time.
Three smaller magnitude quakes followed the main initial temblor.
Initial findings suggest the earthquake has caused no casualties or serious injuries.
Samsat Mayor Yusuf Fırat said that five people were slightly injured and a number of buildings were damaged.
The earthquake was felt in nearby cities as well. Television images showed collapsed walls of buildings in Samsat and cracks on the walls in several multi-story buildings as well as damage on the minaret of a mosque. The minaret is set to be demolished to prevent its collapse. Osman Ertuğrul Altuğ, who heads the local branch of a disaster agency, said damage was reported in villages near the district and authorities set up a crisis desk to measure its severity.
Turkey is located on a seismically active region, which includes the major Northern Anatolia Fault (NAF), where the Anatolian and Eurasian plates meet. The NAF, a strike-slip fault formed as the Anatolian plate being pushed northwestwards by the Arabian plate, has produced devastating earthquakes throughout history.
The last great earthquake in Turkey was in 1999 and thousands were killed when a 7.4 tremor rattled northwestern Turkey. Fears of a "big one" were triggered last month after earthquakes over a 5.0 magnitude hit Ayvacık, a small town in the province of Çanakkale in western Turkey, which has been rocked by a string of small-scale earthquakes and aftershocks since then.
