23.04.2025 22:30
Due to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Istanbul, schools in the megacity were closed for two days. It was also announced that education was suspended for one day in Yalova, Kocaeli, and Tekirdağ. Following the earthquake, 184 aftershocks were recorded, one abandoned building collapsed, and nine houses were evacuated. It was reported that the number of people who were injured by jumping from heights in panic and those who experienced panic attacks was 236.
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İstanbul today was shaken in succession. A 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Marmara Sea off the coast of Silivri at 12:49. AFAD announced that the earthquake was felt at a depth of 6.92 kilometers. The severe tremor was felt in all districts of Istanbul and surrounding provinces.
EARTHQUAKE BREAK FOR EDUCATION IN ISTANBUL Following the concerning earthquake, a decision regarding schools was announced. Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin stated that schools in Istanbul would be closed for two days due to the earthquake. In a statement on his social media account, Minister Tekin said: "So far, there has been no serious negative impact in our schools following the earthquake that occurred in Istanbul and was felt in surrounding provinces. In line with the need for safe areas, our schoolyards are open for the use of all our citizens. In cooperation with our other relevant institutions, we have decided to close our schools in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday. I wish all our nation a speedy recovery."
UNIVERSITIES ARE ALSO CLOSED Additionally, the news that university students were waiting for has also arrived. Universities in the megacity have also been closed for two days. YÖK President Erol Özavr stated, "Fortunately, there has been no negative impact in our universities due to the earthquake that occurred in Istanbul. All our higher education institutions in Istanbul are closed on Thursday and Friday. I once again extend my wishes for a speedy recovery to our entire nation," he said.
EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES, PREGNANT WOMEN, VETERANS, AND MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ARE ALSO ON LEAVE On the other hand, it was announced that employees with disabilities, pregnant women, veterans, and mothers with children under the age of 10 working in public institutions would be considered on administrative leave during this period without the need for any action. It was stated that personnel working in health and safety units are excluded from this scope. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül stated, "Due to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Silivri, education in primary and secondary schools in Istanbul has been suspended for 2 days."
SCHOOLS IN KOCAELİ ARE ALSO CLOSED The Kocaeli Governorship also announced that education in the city has been suspended for one day due to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake. The statement included the following: "The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Silivri in the Marmara Sea was also felt in our province. On Thursday, April 24, 2025, education and training in all formal and non-formal educational institutions, Motor Vehicle Driver Courses (except for practical driving training), and all other courses (including rehabilitation centers and open education institutions) will be suspended for one day.
Employees with disabilities, pregnant women, veterans, and those with chronic illnesses working in public institutions, as well as female personnel with children under the age of 10 who continue their education (except for those whose work is essential) will be considered on administrative leave for one day. We announce this with our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the public.
AFTER THE 6.2, AFTERSHOCKS ARE OCCURRING As citizens panicked and rushed outside during the earthquake, the megacity continued to shake after the 6.2. Numerous aftershocks occurred in Istanbul, the largest being 5.9. While aftershocks continued intermittently, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, and Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu appeared before the cameras to explain the latest situation regarding the earthquake.
127 AFTERSHOCKS OCCURRED Minister Yerlikaya stated: "The earthquake, which occurred at a depth of approximately 7 km, lasted for 13 seconds. The earthquake, which was 24 km away from Silivri, was felt in Istanbul as well as in Tekirdağ, Yalova, Bursa, and Balıkesir. Until 17:55, 127 aftershocks occurred, the largest being 5.9. The number of aftershocks of 4 and above is a total of 7.
From the first moment of the earthquake, our Deputy Minister, group leaders, and our Istanbul Governor Davut Bey gathered at our AFAD Headquarters in Ankara. Thank God, so far there have been no casualties or injured citizens. What did we do first? Scanning; that is, we are trying to determine whether there is a negative trace of the earthquake in the field. Under the coordination of AFAD, all local and central units of our state, including the metropolitan municipality, 39 district municipalities, fire department, police, gendarmerie, and our 1st Army, conducted scanning in the field according to the plan specified in the Istanbul Emergency Response Plan.
1 BUILDING COLLAPSED, 9 HOUSES EVACUATED So far, we have not received any reports of collapsed buildings with residents. Our scanning continues. Only in the Fatih district, there is one abandoned building. We have identified 9 houses related to evacuation by our scanning teams. 1 abandoned building collapsed. Almost all of our ministers have made statements regarding Istanbul. Our Minister of National Education shared the scanning results regarding schools. Immediately after Thursday and Friday, our YÖK President consulted with us, and the announcement was made that education and training in Istanbul would be suspended for 2 days.
10,084 CALLS TO 112 Our governor stated that permission was granted for employees working in public institutions to come to work.
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10,084 calls were made to 112. What does it mean for calls to emergency services? In our Istanbul, which has a population larger than 131 countries in the world with 16 million people, only 10,084 calls were made by our fellow citizens. Many of them were for information purposes. Some expressed concerns about their homes or the buildings where services are provided. Some were health-related reports. Fortunately, there were no reports regarding any derelict buildings in Fatih, and we are grateful that there were no reports of concerns related to life in the building that collapsed.
From the very first moment of the earthquake, we informed our esteemed President and received instructions. Our Earthquake Science Committee is led by our Earthquake Risk Reduction Director, Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar. Our professors will share the latest evaluations with you. Lastly, we are an earthquake-prone country. I say this with the intention of minimizing damage related to risk reduction before an earthquake, ensuring that there are no casualties, under the leadership of our esteemed President, there are services available. Everyone knows the condition of the house they live in best. If there is a need for strengthening or rebuilding, that is, urban transformation, they should respond to the call regarding this service announced by our government. I know that this call has been made many times by our esteemed President and my valuable cabinet colleague Murat Kurum.
"WE HAVE PASSED A VERY BIG TEST TODAY" We have passed a very big test today. Recall the 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Silivri in 2019. We couldn't communicate with each other for even 1.5 hours. While I was governor, we held thousands of meetings chaired by our esteemed minister here. The biggest preparation we can make before an earthquake is our building, our own home, and all public service buildings. We need to take advantage of the services opened by our government, coordinated by Minister Murat Kurum. Once again, I wish my fellow Istanbulites a speedy recovery. I wish healing to our citizens who came to the hospital for treatment. Let us prepare with all our might, hand in hand, as a state and nation before the earthquake. There was no debris search and rescue in this earthquake. I want us to put our hands and hearts under the stone without wasting time in this regard in Istanbul, and to solve this problem sincerely without pointing fingers at each other.
MINISTER KURUM: THERE WILL BE 3,000 DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TEAMS ON THE FIELD Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum made statements following the earthquakes in Istanbul: "We are currently managing the requests coming from 39 districts of Istanbul in coordination with 112. 112 takes every request into account. Whichever relevant unit or ministry is responsible, we are trying to carry out the process carefully by intervening immediately. From the very first moment of the disaster, we mobilized all our teams. We called our friends who need to work on damage assessment to Istanbul. Our team is currently on the field. Our teams are rapidly moving to Istanbul. There will be at least 3,000 damage assessment teams on the field. We will quickly assess the damage to hospitals, schools, mosques, district governorate buildings, municipalities, and buildings belonging to public institutions and organizations.
"378 STRUCTURAL REPORTS RECEIVED" Within 4 days, all complaints received by 112 will be evaluated, prioritizing public buildings. Our citizens who say 'My building has been damaged' will have their buildings checked, and damage assessments will be made. We will complete the damage assessment work within 4 days. We will also send our relevant colleagues to the regions for more than 8,000 requests. As of now, 378 structural reports have reached us. Considering that there are more than 7.5 million independent units in Istanbul, we have received 378 structural damage requests so far. We have immediately conducted our assessments. We have temporarily evacuated 12 of our buildings.
Our colleagues will conduct the necessary inspections in these buildings. We will continue our struggle with all our might to meet every need of Istanbul in this regard, hand in hand with our nation, just as we did on February 6. The process will be managed in coordination with AFAD. We are establishing two crisis centers, one on the Anatolian side and one on the European side. If we need to warn, tremors continue intermittently, and aftershocks are still ongoing. We are monitoring our scientists during this process. We ask our citizens not to enter risky buildings during this time. If they have any concerns or doubts, we want them to call 112 so we can direct our teams to assess the buildings.
EMPHASIS ON "MEETING AREAS" Another important issue is that gathering areas are among the most critical matters during disasters. Our fellow citizens in Istanbul can view the gathering areas in detail on the AFAD website. They can access this information from both our governorate and the AFAD directorate's websites. Our Red Crescent, among others, will be there to meet the needs for shelter and food.
"WE DID NOT EXPERIENCE MUCH COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS IN ISTANBUL" Thank God, we did not experience any communication problems in Istanbul from the very first minutes. Today, we did not experience much communication problems in Istanbul. Nevertheless, it would be beneficial for our citizens to avoid occupying our lines too much and to communicate through messages if necessary. It is important for our teams to be able to reach our citizens that communication is conducted regularly. Citizens can report any emergency situation they observe to 112.
"WE MUST PUT OUR HANDS UNDER THE STONE" The situation we are experiencing today tells us this: Istanbul has only one agenda.
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This agenda is about the earthquake. We must carry out the process together, hand in hand. We live in an earthquake country, and we have experienced these pains. On February 6, we buried more than 50,000 of our loved ones. We do not want to experience this pain again. If there are risky buildings or damaged buildings, we must all put our hands and bodies under the stone together, regardless of the opposition, the government, the municipality, or the ministry. Therefore, let us all work together on every process that our esteemed President has announced as good news for all of Istanbul, so that we do not experience this pain. Let us all fight this struggle together. Just like in all 81 provinces of Turkey, we are working in harmony in all 39 districts of Istanbul. We are considering every request that comes in. Our esteemed President is closely following the process moment by moment. He has given us the necessary instructions. Together with our nation, we will carry out this process, insha'Allah.
MINISTER OF HEALTH MEMİŞOĞLU: 236 OF OUR CITIZENS WERE INJURED Health Minister Prof. Dr. Kemal Memişoğlu stated the following in his announcement: "I wish a speedy recovery to our citizens in Turkey and Istanbul. As the Minister of Health, we arrived in Istanbul following the earthquake that occurred at noon. Thank God, we did not have any primary injuries directly affected by the earthquake. Secondarily, a total of 236 of our citizens experienced panic attacks due to falling, jumping, or the fear of destruction. 173 in Istanbul, 24 in Tekirdağ, 2 in Sakarya, and 3 of our citizens in Yalova and Bursa were affected. All of their conditions are good."
DISASTER ACTION PLAN ACTIVATED AFAD announced that the Turkey Disaster Response Plan has been activated. The statement included the following: "Immediately after the earthquake measuring 6.2 that occurred off the coast of Silivri, Istanbul at 12:49, the Turkey Disaster Response Plan (TAMP) was activated as of 13:15. Representatives of all disaster groups have gathered at the AFAD Headquarters Disaster and Emergency Center under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister of Interior Mr. Münir Karaloğlu. Developments are being monitored in real-time.
CITIZENS FLED TO THE STREETS Citizens caught in the earthquake panicked and fled to the streets. They went to gathering areas and open spaces where there are no buildings.
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN: WE ARE CLOSELY MONITORING DEVELOPMENTS President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his statement regarding the earthquakes in Istanbul, said, "I extend my best wishes to our citizens after the earthquakes in Istanbul, and we are closely monitoring the developments."
WARNING FROM THE ISTANBUL GOVERNORATE In a written statement from the Istanbul Governorate, it was stated, "All our units are on alert due to the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred. As of now, no reports of destruction have been received, and our relevant units are continuing their area scanning efforts. We kindly ask our citizens to remain calm and to avoid approaching buildings that may have been damaged."
"NO PROBLEMS, NO DESTRUCTION" The Istanbul Governorate stated, "Work continues at the crisis center established at AFAD. - No problems have been encountered in energy supply and infrastructure. - No issues have been experienced in natural gas supply. - No malfunctions or problems have occurred in drinking water lines. - There is no destruction in buildings where settlements exist throughout the city. - Field studies by relevant units are ongoing."
AFAD'S WARNING: "DO NOT ENTER DAMAGED BUILDINGS" In a post made on AFAD's social media account, it was stated: "Do not enter damaged buildings in the area after the earthquake. Do not stay near risky buildings. Use short message service (SMS) and internet-based messaging applications for your communications. Follow the warnings of official units."
NO DAMAGE TO ROADS, TRAINS, AND METROS Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated, "In our initial assessments, no damage or negative situations have been encountered in our roads, airports, trains, and metros."
CITIZENS MAY SPEND THE NIGHT IN SCHOOL YARDS, SPORTS HALLS, AND MOSQUES The Istanbul Governorate announced that citizens may spend the night in school yards, sports halls, and mosques. The governorate's statement included the following: "School yards, sports halls, and mosques have been opened for the use of citizens who do not want to spend the night in their homes due to the fear of the earthquake. Additionally, the restrooms of our schools will remain open for the use of citizens until further notice. The Red Crescent and AFAD have mobilized all their resources to meet the basic needs of our citizens."
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