497 quakes hit Turkey in three days

Istanbul, Feb 9: A total of 497 earthquakes, mostly minor, have stricken Turkey’s northwestern province of Cakkale over the past three days, local media reported on Wednesday. The first wave of the tremors was recorded early on Monday at Ayvacik district with a magnitude of 5.3 on Ritcher Scale, which left eight people with minor injuries, Xinhua quoted Cakkale governor’s office as saying. The aftershocks, which forced relief agencies to set up container shelters in the region, damaged some 300 houses. The local residents were then forced to live in tents established by the Disaster and Emergency Magement Authority and the Turkish Red Crescent. As the quakes continued to rock the region on Wednesday, the two relief agencies decided to set up container shelters and move in the victims before sunset to better protect them from cold weather, according to CNNTurk. Meanwhile, Mehmet Ozhaseki, Turkey’s environment and urbanisation minister, cautioned that some 42 per cent of the country’s territory is on active fault lines. (IANS)