Magnitude 4.9 earthquake shakes Turkey's eastern Elazığ

Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ was rocked by a magnitude 4.9 earthquake Friday, causing momentary panic across the city.

According to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the quake struck Elazığ's Sivrice district at 10:02 a.m. local time (0702 GMT) from a depth of 12 kilometers.

After the initial quake, the province was shaken further by a series of 20 aftershocks, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 3.8.

Sivrice Governor Çetin Oktay Kaldırım said no damages or injuries were reported after the quake. However, schools in several districts were closed as a precaution.

Turkey is among the world's most seismically active countries in the world as it is situated on several active faultlines, and dozens of minor earthquakes and aftershocks occur daily. The most potentially devastating fault line is the North Anatolian fault line (NAF), where the Anatolian and Eurasian plates meet.

In September, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the Marmara Sea shook Istanbul and sent panic across the city, injuring 34 and damaging 473 buildings.