Moderate Quake Shakes Northwest Turkey
Pastor Dale Morgan
Moderate Quake Shakes Northwest Turkey*
The Associated Press
Friday, October 20, 2006; 5:09 PM
ANKARA, Turkey -- An earthquake shook northwestern Turkey on Friday,
prompting some residents of Istanbul to flee their homes, officials and
news reports said. There were no immediate reports of injury or
significant damage.
The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0, was centered near a lake
at the Manyas nature reserve in Balikesir province about 260 miles west
of the capital Ankara, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake, which struck at 2:15 p.m. EDT, was felt in Istanbul, some 250
miles north.
Balikesir police chief Celal Uzunkaya said there were no reports of any
injuries.
People in Balikesir and Istanbul rushed out of their homes when the
quake struck, CNN-Turk television and the government-owned Anatolia news
agency reported.
Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which lies on active fault lines.
Two devastating earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999, killing
some 18,000 people.