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

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

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

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

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

The USGS ShakeMap shows the area close to the epicenter to haveexperienced "very strong" shaking of intensity 7 on the ModifiedMercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, where the potential for damage ismoderate for resistant structures and moderate-to-heavy forvulnerable structures.

About 4,000 persons were exposed to 7 MMI shaking intensity,USGS estimated. The eastern Turkey cities of Palu, Kovancilar andKarakocan with populations of 11,000, 23,000 and 30,000,respectively, experienced shaking of 6 MMI intensity, which has alight-to-moderate potential for damage. A large proportion of theregion of eastern Turkey experienced shaking of intensity 3 to4.

According to Risk Management Solutions in Newark, Calif., theDisaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Prime Ministryhas announced a total of 20 casualties in the villages of Ok?ular,Yukar? Kanatl? and Kayal?. Early detailed damage reports werelimited, but said there was damage to property in the smallvillages close to the epicenter.

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

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

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

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, within the Indonesianregion there have now been seven significant earthquakes with amagnitude of more than 6 on the Richter scale. However, there havenot been any casualties or severe damage reported so far. Thethreat for tsunami activity was reported as low.