3.5 magnitude earthquake in the Marmara Sea: False alarm wakes Istanbul from its sleep! Statement from AFAD

The 3.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Istanbul during the night hours became a major topic of discussion not only due to the ground shaking but also because of an exaggerated warning from a mobile application. In particular, when some mobile earthquake applications reported the earthquake as 4.7 in magnitude, thousands of people jumped out of their sleep to the sound of alarms going off simultaneously.

According to data from the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the tremor occurred at 02:33 in the Sea of Marmara, off the coast of Büyükçekmece, and its magnitude was recorded as 3.5.

TOPPED SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

The panic caused by the false alarm quickly found wide repercussions on social media. As thousands of people shared their moments of sudden awakening and fear, the reliability of the application became a subject of debate once again.

WARNING FROM AFAD

Reacting to the misinformation, AFAD included the following statements in a post on its social media account:

"Recently, earthquake magnitudes that do not reflect the truth have been shared through some digital applications, causing our citizens to be driven into fear and panic.

The authority to establish and operate earthquake observation stations in our country, to use the data obtained through this method, and to make statements to the public belongs to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority."

In its statement, AFAD noted that ground movements are monitored 24 hours a day across Turkey with more than 1,200 earthquake observation stations. The statement also included the following reminder:

"We importantly remind our citizens to take into account the statements of authorized institutions and not to give credence to news and posts containing disinformation."