"Fears of post-eclipse quake send Turks flocking outdoors
March 29, 2006
ANKARA -- Hundreds of people in northern Turkey are camping in tents, gripped by panic over rumors that a major quake will hit the region after Wednesday's total solar eclipse, local officials said.
Seismologists flocked to the town of Niksar, in Tokat province, to debunk the rumors and calm the population, but many are determined to stay outdoors, Niksar's deputy mayor Abdullah Yildiz said.
An obscure academic sparked the panic earlier this month when he wrote a letter to local authorities, warning that Wednesday's solar eclipse would be followed by an earthquake measuring up to 7.2 on the Richter scale with its epicenter in Niksar, according to media reports. "
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