Strong earthquake hits Turkey and Greece, killing at least 2

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By BNO NEWS

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 has struck near the city of Bodrum in southwest Turkey, killing at least 2 people on the Greek island of Kos. A tsunami has been observed in some areas.

The earthquake, which struck at 1:31 a.m. local time on Friday, was centered in the Mediterranean Sea about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) south of Bodrum, or 87 kilometers (54 miles) west of Muğla. It struck at a depth of about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), making it a shallow earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the preliminary magnitude of Friday’s earthquake at 6.7.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami which struck coastal areas, including in Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos, where buildings and streets were flooded. Footage from the region also showed buildings damaged by the quake, though the extent of the damage was not immediately known.

The mayor of the island of Kos told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency that at least 2 people were killed when a bar collapsed. More than 100 others were injured on Greek islands and an unknown number of injuries were also reported in Bodrum.

Residents across southwest Turkey and large parts of Greece, including Kos and Rhodes, reported feeling the earthquake.

“It was a strong one. It woke up the whole hotel and I was aware of it for 6 or 7 seconds,” one person in Turkey told the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC). A resident in Kefalos in Greece added: “[It] was loud and violent enough to wake from deep sleep and make you run outside.”

Computer models from the USGS estimated that as many as 34 million people across the region may have felt the earthquake, including 199,000 people who could have felt “strong” to “very strong” shaking. It said the earthquake was capable of causing damage and casualties.

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