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Village Destroyed by Turkey Earthquake
Photograph from AFP/Getty Images
The village of Okcular lies in shambles on March 8, 2010, hours after an earthquake in Turkey shook a remotely populated area of the country, killing at least 51.
The magnitude 5.9 temblor hit Elazig Province (see map) in the predawn hours, destroying stone and mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages, according to the Associated Press.
Though the Turkey earthquake closely follows deadly temblors in Haiti (see Haiti earthquake pictures) and Chile (see Chile earthquake pictures), the three seismic events are too distant geographically to be related, seismologist Bernard Doft, of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in Utrecht, told AP.Published March 8, 2010
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Search for Turkey Earthquake Survivors
Photograph from AFP/Getty Images
Turkish villagers search for survivors on March 8, 2010, in Okcular, the town worst hit by the magnitude 5.9 Turkeyearthquake.
So far more than 50 aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 5.5 have rattled the region, sending panicked survivors fleeing into narrow streets, some climbing out of windows to escape crumbling buildings, the Associated Press reported.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the region's mud-brick buildings—reduced to rubble by the earthquake—were responsible for many deaths, the AP reported. Erdogan promised that the government housing agency will build quake-proof homes in the area.
Published March 8, 2010
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Turkey Earthquake Survivors
Photograph from Reuters
Survivors of the Turkeyearthquake await aid in the hard-hit town of Okcular on March 8, 2010.
Earthquakes in Turkey are relatively common, as the country is bordered by two major fault lines, the North Anatolian Fault and the East Anatolian Fault.
These two faults are part of a "complex geological environment" created by the constant westward motion of the Anatolian plate, Okan Tuysuz, a professor of geology at Istanbul Technical University, told CNN. (See more about plate tectonics.)
Published March 8, 2010
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Cow Killed by Turkey Earthquake
Photograph from AFP/Getty Images
People stand over a dead cow near the remains of a mosque (right) in the town of Karakocan, Turkey, on March 8, 2010. The village had been devastated by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake the previous night.
In addition to toppling houses and minarets, the temblor destroyed several barns, killing farm animals, the Associated Press reported.
Published March 8, 2010
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House Destroyed by Turkey Earthquake
Photograph from Reuters
People walk through a home in the village of Okcular on March 8, 2010, hours after the town was destroyed by the Turkeyearthquake.
The Turkish government has urged residents not to enter any damaged homes, as the unstable structures might topple during strong aftershocks, which could last for days, the Associated Press reported.
Published March 8, 2010
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