2 magnitude 5.3 earthquakes jolt Turkey; minor damage caused

ANKARA, Turkey  — Two earthquakes with preliminary magnitudes of 5.3 jolted Turkey’s northern Aegean coast on Monday, damaging dozens of homes in at least five villages and injuring at least five people.

The first quake was centered beneath the Aegean off the coast from the town of Ayvacik in Turkey’s northwestern Canakkale province and struck at 6:51 a.m. (0351 GMT), the government’s crisis management agency said. The second temblor occurred at 1:58 p.m. (1058 GMT) and was centered in Ayvacik. The seismology center also recorded an aftershock measuring 4.9.

Orhan Tavli, the governor for Canakkale, said around 90 homes were damaged in the first quake and at least five people were hospitalized with minor injuries. Tents were being dispatched to temporarily house those whose homes were damaged.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the villages of Tasagil, Tuzla, Yukari, Cam and Gulpinar — near Ayvacik — were affected.

Earthquakes are common in Turkey, which sits on top of active fault lines.