5.5-magnitude quake hits eastern Turkey

An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit eastern Turkey early Wednesday at about 00: 05 local time (2205 GMT Tuesday), said Turkey's Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute on its website. Turkey's institute said that the quake hit the Kaustuk village of Adilcevaz town of Bitlis province, but so far there was no reports on casualties. The epicenter, with a depth of 9.40 km, was initially determined to be at 38.7143 degrees north latitude and 43.1330 degrees east longitude, the U.S. Geological Survey said. On Oct. 23, a 7.2-magnitude quake shook eastern province of Van, killing 605 people and injuring 4,152 others while 188 people were pulled out alive from the rubble. On Aug. 17, 1999, two powerful earthquakes, measuring 6.7 and 7. 4 on the Richter scale respectively, jolted northwestern and western Turkey, killing about 18,000 people and affecting hundreds of thousands of others.