site.btaBulgarian Seismologist Describes Istanbul Earthquake as “Medium-Strong”

Bulgarian experts put the magnitude of Wednesday’s Istanbul earthquake at 6.3 points on the Richter scale, marginally higher than the 6.2 points reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, said the head of the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Nikolai Miloshev, who was interviewed by BTA hours after the jolt. This earthquake falls into the category of medium-strong seismic events, Miloshev said.

He added that it was epicentred slightly to the south of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara, which is known for its high level of seismicity. By the time of the interview, there were five or six aftershocks, according to Miloshev.

Before this strong quake hit Istanbul at 12:49 PM local time (the same as Bulgarian time), a weaker tremour of 3.9 points on the Richter scale was registered in the same area about half an hour earlier, Miloshev said.

The main quake was felt across most of Bulgaria, including places as remote as the capital Sofia and the cities of Shumen and Varna. People in the northwest of Bulgaria, which is farthest away from the epicentre, may not have felt it, Miloshev said.

According to him, the aftershocks can go on for months, hopefully with diminishing magnitude.