The epicenter was located 18.2 km (11.3 miles) W of Doğanyol (population 6 332), 28.9 km (18 miles) S of Baskil (population 15 922), 44.7 km (27.8 miles) E of Malatya (population 441 805), 50.7 km (31.5 miles) E of Yeşilyurt (population 13 766), 53.4 km (33.2 miles) SW of Elazığ (population 443 363), Turkey.
28 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 56 000 strong, 1 083 000 moderate and 7 071 000 light.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities, indicating a low likelihood of casualties.
A Yellow alert was issued for economic losses, indicating some damage is possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of Turkey. Past events with this alert level have required a local or regional level response.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake-resistant construction. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and dressed stone/block masonry construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.
The map below shows all earthquakes registered in Turkey by the EMSC over the past 30 days — over 700 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 1 to 6:
The location of today’s M6.0 is close to where extremely damaging M7.8 and M7.5 earthquakes hit on February 6, 2023 — known as the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence.
On this day, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Turkey, near the northern border of Syria. This earthquake caused a massive surface rupture exceeding 500 km (310 miles) in length, primarily along the East Anatolian and Çardak faults.
The left-lateral strike-slip faulting at shallow depths contributed to extensive damage throughout the region. It was one of the strongest earthquakes to affect Turkey in decades and resulted in widespread destruction and significant loss of life in both Turkey and Syria.
Approximately nine hours after the initial M7.8 quake, a second major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck approximately 90 km (56 miles) north of the first epicenter. This aftershock further aggravated the damage caused by the initial earthquake.
The rapid sequence of these two earthquakes exacerbated the challenges faced by rescue and recovery efforts, affecting infrastructure and housing across a broad area.
The sequence resulted in over 44 000 fatalities in Turkey and Syria and left many more injured and homeless. More than 160 000 buildings either collapsed or were severely damaged, leading to a massive humanitarian crisis.
The initial earthquake caused widespread devastation across a 300 km (186 miles) surface rupture, displacing the land by up to 7 m (23 feet) in some areas. Both urban and rural settlements suffered significant destruction during this sequence.
Other earthquakes of magnitude above 6.0 were also recorded in the region, though none as devastating as the 2023 sequence.
Read more:
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.0 earthquake Turkey – USGS – October 16, 2024
2 M6.0 earthquake Turkey – EMSC – October 16, 2024
