A powerful earthquake struck Istanbul on April 23, at 12:49 PM local time, causing residents to rush out of buildings in panic. The epicentre was located near Silivri, about eighty kilometres west of Istanbul, at a shallow depth of approximately ten kilometres. While there were no immediate reports of major damage, one person was injured jumping from a balcony. The earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the city of sixteen million in recent years, was felt in neighbouring provinces and as far away as Bulgaria. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated that preliminary evaluations indicated no significant issues affecting highways, airports, trains, or subway systems.
President Tayyip Erdogan said he was closely monitoring the situation and shared guidance on how to respond to potential future quakes. The quake stirred memories of the devastating earthquake near Istanbul in nineteen ninety-nine and the February earthquake in southern Turkey.