Strong Quake Rocks Eastern Turkey

(From the nytimes.com) A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, collapsing buildings and causing widespread panic throughout the region. A number of injuries were reported, the Anatolia news agency said, but there were no immediate reports of deaths. Officials warned, however, that they were struggling to assess the full extent of the damage.

“There is serious human and material loss,” said a brief statement from the national disaster body, which is based in the prime minister’s office.

The temblor struck in an area near the Iranian border at 1:41 p.m., and had a preliminary magnitude of 7.2, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake’s epicenter was in the village of Tabanli, near the city of Van.

Several strong aftershocks also were felt in the area. Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by fault lines. In 1999, about 18,000 people were killed by two powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Turkey.

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