More than 1.5 million buildings in İstanbul are considered structurally at risk, with around one-third urgently needing reconstruction, Turkey’s environment minister said Thursday, a day after a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck just off the city’s coast.
The quake, centered in the Marmara Sea near Silivri, shook Turkey’s largest city and surrounding provinces on Wednesday, prompting mass evacuations, public panic and renewed scrutiny of İstanbul’s vulnerability to a major seismic event.
By Thursday morning Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) had recorded 266 aftershocks, including several above magnitude 4 and one reaching 5.9.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said no fatalities had been reported, but 151 people were injured, most of them after jumping from buildings in panic. Over 16,000 emergency calls were logged, nearly 1,000 of which were related to the quake. More than 101,000 people requested overnight shelter, he said.
Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said the government received 1,399 building damage reports from residents across İstanbul as well as the nearby provinces of Bursa, Balıkesir, Tekirdağ and Yalova.
Inspections showed seven buildings had sustained minor damage. A vacant building in İstanbul’s Fatih district collapsed without causing injuries.
Kurum emphasized the severity of the city’s risk, revealing that İstanbul alone is home to approximately 1.5 million buildings considered seismically unsafe, with 30 percent of them needing immediate reconstruction.
“This is not a situation we can afford to ignore or delay,” he said. “İstanbul can no longer have any priority greater than earthquake safety. Its building stock has no tolerance left — not even for a second.”
Urban transformation projects are currently underway in 365 areas across all 39 districts of the city, Kurum added.
He criticized the tendency to forget the seismic threat days after each disaster, despite the fact that 70 percent of Turkey’s population lives in earthquake-prone regions.
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said 60 people were still receiving medical care for delayed trauma and injuries related to the quake.
Though no large-scale structural collapse occurred, the earthquake has once again exposed İstanbul’s deep vulnerability. Experts have long warned that the city of 16 million — built atop or near active faults — is unprepared for a large quake, despite decades of warnings and previous disasters.
Urban planners and geologists continue to urge the government to shift focus away from controversial megaprojects such as the Kanal İstanbul artificial waterway and toward urgent seismic preparedness.