The Philippine Online Chronicles

At least 41 people were killed when a magnitude six earthquake shook the province of Elazig in eastern Turkey at 4:32 a.m. Turkey time (10:32 a.m. Manila time) today.

According to Reuters, the epicenter of the quake is at about 500 kilometers east of Ankara, near the village of Basyurt. Kovancilar mayor Bekir Yanilmaz said that the quake caused “significant structural damage” in Okcular, Yukari Kanatli, and Kayali.

“Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place,” reported Yadin Apaydin, town administrator of Yukari Kanatli.

“The village is totally flattened,” said Hasan Demirdag, administrator of Okcular.

According to the Associated Press, the Turkish government's crisis center reported around 100 injured.

The Turkish Prime Minister's press office reported on CNN at least 40 aftershocks, which measured up to magnitude 4.4. The United States Geological Survey added that a magnitude 5.5 aftershock struck the region five hours later.

Earthquake prone

Two strong earthquakes have struck Turkey in the past decade, which include the 1999 earthquake that killed at least 18,000, and the 2003 earthquake that took 83 lives.

“Turkey is located on a highly active Eurasian Geological Plate which has caused numerous big scale earthquakes throughout the history,” explained a study by the University of Southern Carolina.

“The earliest earthquake records date back to 411 B.C. There have been nearly 100 earthquakes with magnitudes 7.0 or greater in Turkey. Also 14 earthquakes with casualties more than 10,000 have occured since 342 A.D.,” the study added.

Powerful earthquakes have also shook different countries this year, including the January earthquake in Haiti and the February earthquake in Chile, which took 230,000 and 500 lives, respectively. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake also struck Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on March 4, where 96 were injured.