A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck western Turkey’s Balikesir province on Sunday evening, according to the country’s disaster management agency AFAD. The tremor, recorded at 7:53 p.m. local time, was felt across multiple provinces, including areas near Istanbul, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that AFAD emergency teams were conducting inspections in Istanbul and surrounding provinces, with no negative findings reported so far. AFAD reported the quake’s depth at 11 km (6.8 miles), while the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) measured it at 6.19 magnitude with a 10 km depth.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that about 31.8 million people may have felt the quake, with around 228,000 experiencing “strong” to “severe” shaking. The most intense tremors were reported in Golcuk, Bigadic, and Sindirgi.
