5.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Turkey: A Shaky Revival!
Well, well, well! Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the living room, Turkey has decided to throw another tremor into the mix. A mere 5.9 magnitude earthquake jolted several provinces in eastern Turkey on Wednesday, prompting our natural disaster management experts to remind us that Mother Nature didn’t run out of surprises just yet. Just to clarify, no immediate casualties have been reported—because let’s be honest, it would be a bit too much drama for one week, wouldn’t it?
Now, let’s set the stage. The quake made its grand appearance at 10:46 a.m. (09:46 a.m. BST) in the Kale district of Malatya. Ah, Malatya, home to delicious apricots and apparently, uninvited seismic entertainment! This province was already shaken (and stirred) by a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake earlier this year, which, if you remember, left behind more than 53,500 souls lost in Turkey and nearly 6,000 across the border in Syria. Talk about a dark and stormy night, eh? And just as we were all starting to breathe a little easier!
Stay Calm and Carry On (or Not)
The public disaster management agency, Afad, tweeted out the reassuring news that currently, “there has been no loss of human life or destruction of property.” Brilliant! That’s like being handed a salad after a month-long binge of pizza and ice cream—absolutely necessary but none the more satisfying.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone was cool as a cucumber. The Malatya Municipality stepped in to let us know there were no “negative developments”—which feels like a very diplomatic way of saying, “Hey, we’ve got this under control so don’t lose your marbles just yet!” Although, let’s face it, you know some folks were trying to get out of a work meeting under the guise of “the ground shook”—creative thinking at its finest!
Schools, however, were shut down faster than you can say “Earthquake safety drills!” Malatya’s provincial governor, Seddar Yavuz, declared a day off for primary and secondary students. One person’s disaster is apparently another’s unexpected holiday—just when kids were settling into their winter routines!
All Shook Up
As if on cue, people in larger cities like Diyarbakir, perched approximately 140 km from the epicenter, felt the tremor as if someone was shaking their entire block of flats to wake them up from a Netflix-induced coma. And what did they do? They rushed outside faster than you could say “Let’s form a human chain!” because nothing amplifies panic quite like the sight of your neighbor in their pajamas, sprinting like they’re auditioning for the next reality show.
So, here we are, rocking and rolling amidst the uncertainties of Mother Nature. It’s clear we’re all playing a delightful game of “dodge the earthquake,” while attempting to keep our heads on our shoulders—and preferably sans panic attacks. Let’s raise a glass to resilience, but keep those emergency kits handy because with nature, you never really know when it’s showtime again!
Several provinces in eastern Turkey were shaken by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, authorities announced, with no immediate reports of casualties.
The earthquake occurred at 10:46 a.m. (09:46 a.m. BST) in the Kale district, in the province of Malatya, one of the provinces hit by the violent 7.8 magnitude earthquake of February 6, 2023, which caused more than 53,500 deaths in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria.
“For the moment, there has been no loss of human life or destruction of property after the 5.9 magnitude earthquake,” writes the public disaster management agency (Afad) on X.
No negative development
The Malatya Municipality also indicated that there were no “negative developments” at this stage.
Primary and secondary schools were, however, closed on Wednesday in Malatya, announced provincial governor Seddar Yavuz.
The tremor was felt very strongly in several large towns in the region, including Diyarbarkir, some 140 km from the epicenter, according to AFP correspondents on site.
Residents of these large cities immediately rushed outside their buildings, according to images broadcast by Turkish television channels.
