Moderate earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey

Moderate earthquake shakes northwestern Turkey

Moderate earthquake shook northwestern Turkey on Wednesday, the Istanbul-based Kandilli seismology institute said. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5, centered in the city of Adapazari, one of the hardest hit areas in a 1999 earthquake that killed more than 17,000 people. Adapazari lies some 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Istanbul.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies atop the active North Anatolian fault.

In 1999, a devastating quake killed about 17,000 people in northwestern Turkey in August. Another killer quake which also hit northwestern Turkey in November claimed the lives of more than 1,000 the same year, reports the AP.

I.L.