Residents in Sindirgi, northwest Turkey, worked together on Sunday to clear debris from a collapsed building after an earthquake struck the area on August 10, 2025. AP
A strong earthquake shook Turkey’s northwestern Balikesir province on Sunday. The 6.1 magnitude quake killed one person and injured at least 29 others. Officials confirmed more than a dozen buildings collapsed, and damage spread across the region.
The quake’s epicenter was in Sindirgi town. Tremors reached as far as Istanbul, nearly 200 kilometers away, startling residents in the crowded city of over 16 million people.
Life Lost and Buildings Down
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported that an elderly woman died shortly after being rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Sindirgi. Four other people were pulled out alive from the same site.
Sixteen buildings in total came down, most of them old and abandoned. Two mosque minarets also fell. Despite the destruction, none of the injured were in critical condition.
Rescues and Aftershocks
Rescue teams searched through piles of debris, asking onlookers to remain quiet so they could listen for voices beneath the rubble. Turkey’s disaster agency confirmed several aftershocks followed, the largest measuring 4.6. Officials urged residents to stay out of damaged buildings due to safety risks.
President’s Message and Earthquake History
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed sympathy to those affected, wishing them a quick recovery. “May God protect our country from any kind of disaster,” he wrote on X.
Turkey lies on active fault lines, making earthquakes a common threat. The nation still remembers the devastating 7.8 magnitude quake of 2023 that killed more than 53,000 people in Turkey and another 6,000 in northern Syria, leaving widespread destruction across multiple provinces.
