Istanbul being prepared for potentially devastating earthquake

The Turkish authorities plan to start preparing the city of Istanbul for the potentially devastating earthquake that seismologists have recently warned about, Turkish Environment and Urbanization Minister Mehmet Ozhaseki said.

"We held a meeting with [Istanbul Mayor] Ekrem [Imamoglu] and the heads of the [city’s municipal] districts to discuss a potential earthquake hitting Istanbul, and we reached a basic agreement. We will get down to work next week," Mehmet Ozhaseki said.