NU Online News Service, March 8, 3:36 p.m. EST

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Turkey's eastern province of Elazig has killed 51 people, but the insured losses should be light, a catastrophe modeling firm reported.

AIR Worldwide in Boston said, "We do not expect insured losses to be significant from the recent earthquake in Turkey primarily because of low insurance penetration in Turkey."

The company added that the area which the quake struck--27 miles west of Bingol, 42 miles northeast of Elazig--is not a highly populated region.

The United States Geological Survey has reported a fixed focal depth of 6.2 miles and an epicenter location close to the village of Basyurt, 340 miles east of the Turkish capital, Ankara.

The USGS ShakeMap shows the area close to the epicenter to have experienced "very strong" shaking of intensity 7 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, where the potential for damage is moderate for resistant structures and moderate-to-heavy for vulnerable structures.

About 4,000 persons were exposed to 7 MMI shaking intensity, USGS estimated. The eastern Turkey cities of Palu, Kovancilar and Karakocan with populations of 11,000, 23,000 and 30,000, respectively, experienced shaking of 6 MMI intensity, which has a light-to-moderate potential for damage. A large proportion of the region of eastern Turkey experienced shaking of intensity 3 to 4.

According to Risk Management Solutions in Newark, Calif., the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Prime Ministry has announced a total of 20 casualties in the villages of Ok?ular, Yukar? Kanatl? and Kayal?. Early detailed damage reports were limited, but said there was damage to property in the small villages close to the epicenter.

More than 20 aftershocks have occurred since the original earthquake, according to the USGS. The largest of these occurred with a moment magnitude of 5.5.

There are a number of significant faults in Turkey, and as a result, the country is prone to frequent earthquakes. In 1999, more than 18,000 people were killed in two devastating earthquakes in the country.

On Friday an undersea earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a magnitude of 6.5.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, within the Indonesian region there have now been seven significant earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 6 on the Richter scale. However, there have not been any casualties or severe damage reported so far. The threat for tsunami activity was reported as low.

Special Reports /

Turkey Quake Kills 51, But Insured Loss Seen As Low

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