Nearly 3,000 buildings sustained damage in Istanbul earthquake, says minister

Almost 3,000 buildings in Istanbul have been reported as damaged following the recent earthquake that struck the city, said Murat Kurum, Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Kurum confirmed that inspections have been carried out on more than 25,000 buildings across the city, Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media.

"We have checked 25,017 buildings, of which 2,928 received minor damage, the rest are not damaged," the minister wrote.

The damage, while categorized as minor, has raised concerns about the resilience of Istanbul’s vast building stock, particularly in a city long known to be vulnerable to seismic activity. Kurum emphasized that damage assessments are still underway and that authorities are continuing to monitor affected areas closely.

The seismic activity in Istanbul began on April 23, when a series of earthquakes struck the region, the most powerful registering a magnitude of 6.2. The tremors were felt as far as 300 kilometers from the epicenter, reaching the capital city of Ankara and prompting emergency services across the country to be placed on high alert.

Subsequent damage assessments began swiftly. On April 26, Minister Murat Kurum announced that inspections of 8,367 buildings had revealed structural damage in 437 of them. That same day, a new earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 occurred near Istanbul. The epicenter of this latest tremor was located at a depth of 7 kilometers, adding to public anxiety over the region’s seismic vulnerability.

These developments come amid growing concern among experts. A prominent seismologist recently issued a stark warning regarding the potentially catastrophic consequences of a long-anticipated major earthquake in Istanbul, underscoring the urgent need for preparedness and resilient infrastructure.

By Vafa Guliyeva