Authorities have suspended all classes in İstanbul from preschool to university for two days following a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake and dozens of aftershocks that struck the city and surrounding areas on Wednesday, the T24 news website reported.
The decision came hours after Turkish Education Minister Yusuf Tekin initially said that schools were structurally sound and would remain open. But as aftershocks continued into the afternoon, the ministry reversed course and announced a two-day closure “in cooperation with other relevant institutions.”
“All our schools are currently safe,” Tekin said in a revised statement, “but in line with the need for safe open spaces, schoolyards will be accessible to the public. We have decided to suspend in-person education on Thursday and Friday.”
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) also announced that all classes at both public and private universities in the city would be suspended for the same period.
İstanbul was rattled by a series of tremors beginning with a 6.2-magnitude quake centered in the Marmara Sea near Silivri at 12:49 p.m. local time (0949 GMT), followed by more than 50 aftershocks, including one that measured 5.9.
While officials said there were no immediate reports of severe damage or casualties, millions were shaken by the quake, which was felt across the city of more than 16 million people.
Two schools reported minor wall cracks, but no serious injuries or structural damage were confirmed.
İstanbul lies near the North Anatolian Fault, one of the most active seismic zones in the world. Experts have long warned that the city is overdue for a major earthquake.
In February 2023 two powerful earthquakes devastated southeastern Turkey, killing over 50,000 people and displacing millions — a disaster that exposed severe weaknesses in building standards and emergency response systems across the country.