M4.1 earthquake jolts NW Turkey, tremors felt in İstanbul

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred off the coast of Çınarcık, Yalova in northwestern Turkey at 11.53 p.m. yesterday, as reported by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Boğaziçi University's Kandilli Observatory measured the quake at 4.2 in magnitude. The quake originated at a depth of 11 kilometers, according to both institutions. 

In the subsequent two hours, three more earthquakes occurred, each with magnitudes lower than 2.5.

The tremor reverberated not only through Yalova but also across neighboring provinces, including Istanbul, according to reports.

Following the quake, numerous users took to social media expressing their curiosity about whether this seismic activity could be a foreshock of the anticipated major earthquake in İstanbul.

Geophysics professor Övgün Ahmet Ercan said there is no need to worry about this issue, as the earthquake occured on a fault that fractured during the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in 1999. 

"The earthquake occurred on the 1999 Çınarcık fault. It's a routine stress release. I don't anticipate a major earthquake. It doesn't bring forward the İstanbul earthquake. No need to worry," he wrote on X.

Prof. Naci Görür, another eartquake expert, wrote, "I think the earthquake may have occurred on the small normal faults south of the Princes' Islands Fault. This will be clarified with fault analysis. I'm placing the fault map. The system in the Marmara region is accumulating stress."

Cenk Yaltırak, another expert, wrote, "These earthquakes are a continuation of seismic activity that has been ongoing since 2015. There is no center actively monitoring the significance of such earthquakes." (VK)