Moderate earthquake shakes Turkish capital; no reports of injuries

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 shook the Turkish capital early Thursday, rocking furniture and waking residents from their sleep, authorities said. The quake caused no injuries but some damage in the area. The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 1:47 a.m. (2347 GMT Wednesday), was in the town of Bala, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Ankara, said Dogan Kalafat, an official from the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory. A magnitude 5.7 temblor had also rocked Bala last Thursday, damaging around 20 houses. There were no reports of any casualties in the latest quake, authorities said, but it toppled the minaret of a mosque and damaged the roof of another building near Bala. It also damaged three houses that were evacuated last week, they added.