ISTANBUL, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake that jolted eastern Turkey on Friday is a grim reminder that the country has to be vigilant in the face of a major possible earthquake near the economic capital Istanbul, experts said.
The 6.5-magnitude tremor on the Richer scale that hit the province of Elazig on Friday killed at least 41 people and injured more than 1,600, causing buildings to collapse in the city and in surrounding rural areas.
Elazig is located on the Eastern Anatolia Fault Line which was silent for some time, "but it is now awakening," warned veteran seismologist Naci Gorur.
"I believe that this earthquake is cause for concern because this fault line was silent for a long time, it could now behave as the North Anatolia Fault Line (NAF) which has generated several earthquakes over magnitude 7 between 1939 and 1999," he pointed out.
The 1,400 km long NAF passes to the south of Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city of over 16 million. But Gorur said that the Elazig earthquake would not trigger the "Big One," the powerful tremor of magnitude 7.2-7.6 that scientists have since years been warning that will inevitably happen amid a general fear.
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Istanbul in last September, causing more panic than damage and showed that residents of the megacity are largely unprepared. Eight people were slightly wounded and only minor damages have been officially reported in the giant city which straddles Europe and Asia.
Experts generally think that while important measures have been taken by authorities in the last two decades, there is still a lot to be done by mainly government institutions to prevent deaths.
In 1999, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake rattled the industrialized Marmara region east of Istanbul, killing more than 17,000 people and injuring 50,000 others.
The tragedy highlighted the loose construction standards across Turkey which is among the world's most seismically active countries, and the ill-preparedness of emergency services.
Since then regulations have become significantly stricter and Turkish teams have become very efficient in first response as proven in Elazig where at least 45 people were rescued under the rubble.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu assured after the Elazig tremor that the government is taking bold steps and "seriously" preparing to deal with a possible major earthquake in Istanbul.
