Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes Turkey

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the island of Samos, Greece. The tremor was recorded around noon on Friday at 1.51 pm local time, at a shallow depth of 10 km below the surface.

The earthquake caused buildings to collapse and a sea surge that flooded streets in the Turkish resort city of Izmir. Greek public television said the quake also caused a mini-tsunami on the eastern Aegean Sea island of Samos, damaging buildings.

Turkey’s disaster agency reported the death of fourteen people and said that more than 200 were injured. According to the US Geological Survey, the 7.0 magnitude quake was registered 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) off the Greek town of Karlovasi on Samos.

“So far, we have received information about six collapsed buildings” in Izmir province, which includes the city, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

“Some of our fellow citizens are stuck in the rubble,” said Environment Minister Murat Kurum, adding that he knew of five collapsed buildings.

According to sources, the city’s mayor Tunc Soyer told him he had information about the collapse of 20 buildings.