Magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattles Aegean Sea in western Türkiye
An empty street following the earthquake in Kuşadası district in Aydın province, Jan. 27, 2024. (AA Photo)


A magnitude 5.1 earthquake, which was felt in Türkiye's western Izmir and Manisa provinces, shook the Aegean region early Saturday, Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said.

The epicenter of the earthquake, which took place at a depth of 8.51 kilometers, was the Kuşadası Peninsula, AFAD said.

In a statement posted on X, Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban said the earthquake took place at 8:19 a.m. local time. He noted that no issues have been reported to the governor's office.

Aydın Governor Yakup Canbolat also said no problems have been reported.

A pair of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaraş province, felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa, killed at least 50,000 people, in one of the most devastating disasters in the country.

The Aegean region is an indented swathe of cities and towns where the eponymous sea cuts through the land that mountains face. Most settlements face countless islands, small and large, dotting the sea. The geography owes its current shape to earthquakes and shifts in tectonic plates. The wider region is located right in the center of the meeting point of three tectonic plates stretching to Africa, the Middle East and the Eurasian region. The Arabian and Eurasian plates collide to the east of the Aegean, in an area covering Izmir and other Turkish provinces. Their collision pushes the Anatolian plate further north toward the west, creating the potential for earthquakes.