The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has issued travel advice after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey.
This morning the earthquake rocked Istanbul and surrounding areas, according to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency. Despite the quake causing no immediate severe damage in the city of 16 million, over 150 people were hospitalised due to injuries sustained while trying to escape buildings.
The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (about 6 miles), with its epicentre located approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara. The tremors were felt in neighbouring provinces including Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir, as well as in the city of Izmir, some 550 kilometres south of Istanbul.
The quake also hit Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania. One user wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “6.2M earthquake felt in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria, the entire airport shook. While everyone was running out, I just stood there, looking at the ceiling, thinking ok this is it, I’m actually cooked now”.
Have you been impacted by the earthquake? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
This afternoon the FCDO issued the following travel advice for Brits. It read: “Many parts of Turkey regulary experience earthquakes and tremors. These can be a high magnitude, cause damage to infrastructure, and pose a risk to life. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul, on 23 April 2025. For the latest information, visit Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority’s (AFAD) earthquake page. Follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media. See the US Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance about what to do before, during and after an earthquake.”
Several aftershocks followed the initial earthquake, one of which measured 5.3. The quake struck at 12.49pm during a public holiday when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets, leading to widespread panic in Istanbul, a city already on edge due to the looming threat of a major earthquake. Residents fled their homes and buildings for the safety of the streets.
The disaster and emergency management agency urged people to stay away from buildings. The Istanbul governor’s office released a statement which read: “Due to panic, 151 of our citizens were injured from jumping from heights. Their treatments are ongoing in hospitals, and they are not in life-threatening condition.”
Locals swarmed into parks and other open spaces, pitching tents away from buildings, fearing collapses or aftershocks after an earthquake rattled the region.
During a 20th-floor workout, personal trainer Leyla Ucar and her student experienced terrifying tremors. “We shook incredibly. It threw us around, we couldn’t understand what was happening, we didn’t think of an earthquake at first because of the shock of the event,” she recounted the ordeal. “It was very scary.”
Senol Sari, 51, described his rush to safety with his children, explaining how they were at home when everything began to shake. “We immediately protected ourselves from the earthquake and waited for it to pass, then calmly walked away from the house,” he told The Associated Press.
“Of course, we were scared during the earthquake. We were worried that it would continue. Since the (great) Istanbul earthquake is (still) an expected earthquake, our concerns continue.”
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