Earthquake in Aegean Sea kills at least 19 people

Western Turkey and Greek island of Samos see damage, flooding.

Damage, f looding and hundreds of injuries are reported after a powerful temblor strikes near Turkey and Greece.

A strong earthquake struck Friday in the Aegean Sea between the Turkish coast and the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 700 amid collapsed buildings and f looding, officials said.

A small tsunami struck the Seferihisar district south of Izmir, the city in western Turkey that was affected worst by the quake, said Haluk Ozener, director of the Istanbul- based Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute.

At least 17 people were killed in Izmir, Turkey’s third- largest city, including one who drowned, and 709 were injured, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD.

Among the dead were the wife and two children of the secretary- general of the Turkish Medical Assn.’ s branch in Izmir, the group said.

On Samos, two teenagers died after being struck by a wall that collapsed. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted condolences, saying, “Words are too poor to describe what one feels before the loss of children.”

At least 19 people were injured on Samos; two, including a 14- year- old, were airlifted to Athens, and seven were hospitalized on the island, health authorities said.

The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, with seawater f looding streets in the main harbor town of Vathy. Authorities warned people to stay away from the coast and from potentially damaged buildings.

Izmir Gov. Yavuz Selim Kosger said at least 70 people were rescued from destroyed buildings. Searchand- rescue efforts were underway in at least 17 buildings, AFAD said.

Turkish media showed rescuers pulling people from the rubble, including one survivor who was found about six hours after the quake. Emergency teams continued digging after nightfall, and cranes lifted concrete slabs from the wreckage.

The earthquake, which Kandilli said had a magnitude of 6.9, struck at 2: 51 p. m. local time in Turkey and was centered in the Aegean Sea northeast of Samos. AFAD said it measured the magnitude at 6.6.

The quake was felt across the eastern Greek islands and as far as the capital, Athens, as well as in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it shook the regions of Aegean and Marmara, including Istanbul. The governor of that city, Turkey’s largest, said there were no reports of damage.

Video on Twitter showed f looding in Izmir’s Seferihisar district, and Turkish officials and broadcasters called on people to stay off the streets after reports of traffic congestion. Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer urged residents not to enter damaged buildings and to be mindful of social distancing and mask mandates amid the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Clouds of dust or smoke rose from several spots as buildings collapsed in the quake.

Seismologist Akis Tselentis told Greek state broadcaster ERT that because of the shallow depth of the epicenter — about six miles — potentially powerful aftershocks could be expected for several weeks. Tselentis warned that buildings could collapse in a strong aftershock.