Türkiye experienced 17,343 earthquakes in the first half of 2024: Report claims

Turkey has been hit by some 17,343 earthquakes in the first six months of 2024, with 99 of them having a magnitude above 4.0. 

Most earthquakes occurred in the eastern Malatya province with 3,078 quakes.

Some 17,343 earthquakes hit Turkey in the first six months of 2024, Disaster Management Expert Bülent Özmen told state-run Anadolu Agency. He is an academic at the Gazi University Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering.

Accordingly, 94 of these quakes were between magnitude 4.0-4.9 and five between magnitude 5.0-5.9. 

January saw the highest number of earthquakes with 3,409, followed by February with 3,207. The quakes killed one and injured seven people in six months.

The biggest quake in magnitude occurred in Tokat province on April 18 with a magnitude of 5.6, injuring five people. 20 houses and two minarets were collapsed and 283 buildings were damaged in Tokat due to the quake.

Moreover, most earthquakes occurred in the eastern Malatya province with 3,078 quakes, followed by the southeastern Kahramanmaraş with 2,599 quakes, and the western Muğla with 1153 quakes.

Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.

Most recently, two deadly earthquakes struck Turkey’s southeast on Feb. 6, 2023, one at a magnitude of 7.7 and the other at 7.6, killing at least 50,000 people according to official figures.

Experts have been waiting for a major earthquake with a magnitude above 7 to hit Istanbul in the near future.