DAMAGING M6.2 Earthquake struck on Wednesday Afternoon in the Sea Of Marmara near Istanbul (Türkiye).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 23rd, 2025. Last updated May 23rd, 2025.

In the early afternoon of Wednesday April 23rd, 2025, a DAMAGING and strong MAG-6.2 earthquake hit in the Sea Of Marmara 71 kilometer from Istanbul, Türkiye. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage and have a significant risk at casualties. Other countries near the epicenter include Greece and Bulgaria.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Sea Of Marmara, 29 kilometers (18 mi) off the coast of Türkiye, 71 kilometer west-southwest of Istanbul in İstanbul. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 7 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 23, 2025 12:49 (Istanbul Time) - Apr 23, 2025 09:49 Universal Time.
Location:	71 km WSW of Istanbul, İstanbul, Türkiye. Coordinates 40°48'19"N 28°8'51"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 91 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.032 .
Depth:	7 km (4 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IX Violent On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 11 persons injured in Bursa, 236 at Istanbul, 23 at Kocaeli, 40 at Sakarya, 28 at Tekirdag and 21 in Yalova. One building destroyed at Bakirkoy, 1 at Buyukcekmece and 1 at Fatih. At least 4,295 buildings damaged at Istanbul; 539 at Esenyurt; 61 at Tekirdag, 28 in Bursa, 28 at Kocaeli, 3 in Yalova and 1 at Silivri.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 43% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 91% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 1 and 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level ORANGE (orange). They expect an 43% likelyhood of between 100 and 1,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 91% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 10 and 10,000 million USD.

Roughly 29 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 29 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VIII, which corresponds with severe shaking and likely moderate to heavy damage. Roughly 59,910 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 16 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Türkiye , around 28 million people, with impact levels up to VIII (severe shaking, likely moderate to heavy damage). A smaller number of people were exposed in the following countries: Bulgaria and Greece.

Nearby towns and cities

4 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Türkiye , Greece and Bulgaria . Futher away, this earthquake may also have been felt in Romania.

Located 31 kilometer (19 mi) south-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Silivri (İstanbul, Türkiye) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Silivri is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Istanbul is located 71 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Bursa is located 103 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Bağcılar is located 65 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of VI (strong shaking, probably light damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 890 people in 7 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 890 people have reported shaking in 99 places in 7 countries (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece, Kuwait, Romania).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• İstanbul, İstanbul, Turkey: 272 people.
• Sultanbeyli, İstanbul, Turkey: 96 people.
• Büyükçekmece, İstanbul, Turkey: 90 people.
• Çorlu, Tekirdağ, Turkey: 34 people.
• Yakuplu, İstanbul, Turkey: 33 people.
• Esenyurt, İstanbul, Turkey: 29 people.
• Burgas, Burgas, Bulgaria: 25 people.
• Bucharest, Bukarest, Romania: 20 people.
• Bursa, Bursa, Turkey: 20 people.
• İzmir, İzmir, Turkey: 17 people.

140 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 140 smaller aftershocks. Just 2 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.3 was detected 16 km (10 mi) east-northeast of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 3.9 magnitude earthquake hit 36 mins earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 8 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 12th, 2017, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 258 km (160 mi) further southwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 10 years.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 23/05/25 00:48 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000pufs
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250423_0000104
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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