Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes in Mediterranean

MUĞLA

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the southwestern province of Muğla's Datça district early on May 14, with experts cautioning that a significant earthquake in the area “would not come as a surprise.”

The quake occurred at 1:51 a.m. local time, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced. The epicenter was located approximately 155 kilometers off the coast of Datça, the closest point on Turkish soil.

The tremor was felt across southern Türkiye as well as parts of southern Greece, including the islands of Crete and Rhodes, and in Cyprus.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Muğla Governor İdris Akbıyık noted that “inspections related to the earthquake are ongoing.”

Speaking to private broadcaster CNN Türk, geophysicist Professor Süleyman Pampal stressed the region’s high seismic risk due to its tectonic setting.

“This area lies along the boundary of the African and Eurasian plates. There have been seven very destructive earthquakes here in historical times, with magnitudes reaching 8 to 8.5. If a major quake happens here, it would not come as a surprise,” Pampal noted.

A series of minor earthquakes were recorded across Türkiye on May 13, including a 4.9 magnitude quake in the Aegean Sea and a 3.8 magnitude tremor off the coast of southern city of Antalya. In the Marmara Sea near Istanbul, two separate 3.8 magnitude earthquakes were felt but caused no damage.

Commenting on the Marmara tremors, prominent earthquake expert Professor Dr. Naci Görür explained that stress transfer continues in the region.

These events followed a stronger 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul on April 23, causing widespread panic but no casualties. Hundreds of aftershocks were recorded in its aftermath.