A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 has hit Istanbul and the surrounding regions, one of the strongest to strike the city of 16 million in recent years.

Buildings shook and crowds fled down busy streets as a quake in the Sea of Marmara rocked the major Turkish city and nearby communities.

Footage showed people running down a busy street to safety. The initial tremor reportedly lasted 30 seconds, before as many as 51 aftershocks hit.

A news reporter filming a live broadcast for CNN Turkey shook and gripped onto her desk as the earthquake was felt in Istanbul offices.

There were no immediate reports of damage, but people evacuated buildings as the quake hit and shook the city.

Broadcaster TGRT reported that one person had been injured as a result of jumping off a balcony during the quake, which occurred during a public holiday in Turkey.

People reported to have felt the quake as far away as Greece, North Macedonia, Romania and Bulgaria, with lower intensity. AFP journalists in Sofia said they had felt tremors.

Turkey was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023, which killed more than 50,000 people and levelled tens of thousands of buildings in eastern Turkey and Syria.

Hundreds of construction contractors were placed under investigation as it emerged the disaster’s impact may have been exacerbated by widespread unsafe building practices.

Residents fled from shaking buildings as Istanbul was hit by a string of quakes 

Syrian journalist Qusay Noor shared video of people running through the streets of Istanbul

An abandoned building in Fatih district, Istanbul, collapses after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake

Police take security measures around the area after an abandoned building in Fatih district collapses partly on Wednesday

Buildings shook as a quake in the Sea of Marmara rocked the major Turkish city and nearby communities

People leave the buildings in panic and call their loved ones after 6.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Istanbul

People were left in shock after the 6.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the historic city

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.02 and was at a depth of 10km (6.21 miles).

The epicentre was just off the Silivri, a coastal area known for its seismic activity some 50 miles to the west of Istanbul. 

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It was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3. The disaster and emergency management agency urged residents to stay away from buildings.

Turkey’s disaster agency reported three more quakes shortly before 12.00 GMT, all in Istanbul’s Buyukcekmece district. 

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency had already reported that the 6.2 quake was preceded by a 3.9 magnitude tremor at 12.13 local time (10.13 GMT), and succeeded by a 4.4 magnitude quake in Buyukcekmece district at 12.51 local time (10.51 GMT).

Later, the interior minister reported that 51 aftershocks had been recorded following the 6.2 quake. 

Tremors were felt in neighboring regions and rescue teams have been dispatched, local media reported.

Sandra D’Souza, holidaying in Istanbul from London, said she and her husband were near the famous Galata Tower when the quake struck.

They were having lunch in a local coffee shop ‘when we felt the tremor and the building started to shake and sway’.

‘Everyone started looking and one another. Thankfully it only lasted a short while and everyone resumed business as usual,’ she told MailOnline.

‘There were far more people out in the street after however as we were told there could be aftershocks.’

‘I just felt earthquake, I’ve got to get out,’ said a shaken-looking decorator rushing out of a fourth floor apartment where he was working near the city’s Galata Tower, who did not want to give his name. 

Turkey’s AFAD disaster agency warned people in the region against entering damaged buildings.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said there were no ‘serious cases’ in the earthquake in a statement made on its social media accounts.

Kemal Cebi, the mayor of Kucukcekmece district in western Istanbul, told local broadcaster NTV that there were ‘no negative developments yet’ but he reported that there were traffic jams and that many buildings were already at risk due to the density of the area.

‘Until now, we have no information about any buildings collapsing,’ the governor’s office said, urging people to avoid any structures that might have been damaged in the tremors. 

Video showed large waves rolling in the Bosphorus as the quakes first struck.

Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent. 

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake on February 6, 2023, and a second powerful tremor that came hours later, destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern Turkish provinces, leaving more than 53,000 people dead.

The reporter could be seen shaking during a live broadcast in the city

Turkey’s AFAD disaster agency warned people in the region against entering damaged buildings

People look on at damage to a building in Fatih, Istanbul

File photo shows the Hagia Sophia Byzantine structure in Istanbul, Turkey, where an earthquake today caused buildings to shake

Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria. 

While Istanbul was not impacted by that earthquake, the devastation heightened fears of a similar quake with experts citing the city’s proximity to fault lines

In a bid to prevent damage from any future quake, both the national government and local administrations started urban reconstruction projects to fortify buildings at risk and started campaigns of demolishing buildings at risk of collapse. 

The latest tremor also revived memories of a 1999 earthquake near Istanbul that killed 17,000. 

Environment Minister Murat Kurum in February renewed his warning about a massive earthquake poised to strike Istanbul by 2030.

Experts believe the tremor could topple as many as 600,000 houses and affect millions in the country’s largest city.

They calculated a 65 per cent probability that a quake with magnitude 7 or higher could occur before 2030 in the region including Istanbul. 

This news is breaking: more to follow.