Moderate earthquake shakes eastern Turkey, damaging homes in 7 villages

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0, was centered in the town of Tutak, in Agri province, which borders Iran, the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said. It struck at 9:38 a.m. (0738 GMT).

Akpinar said earlier the quake had knocked down a number of homes in the villages of Yukarikosk and Cobanova, but later said the quake caused damage to homes in at least seven villages, mostly demolishing barns and annexes of some of the houses. Two women were injured by falling debris at Yukarikosk but were not in serious condition, Akpinar said.

Derya Ozer, the daughter of the local administrator in Cobanova, said some old houses and barns came down in the temblor, while others had suffered cracks or other types of damage.

"But thank God there is nothing serious," she told CNN-Turk television. "Everyone is waiting outside. Nobody will go back into their homes." The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/