5.8-magnitude earthquake damages mosque in Istanbul

On Thursday, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook Istanbul, Turkey, causing significant damage to buildings and even knocking down the minaret of a mosque located in the city's Avcilar district, The Independent reported. 

This marks the second earthquake to petrify residents of Istanbul in just two days. The first was recorded at a 4.6-magnitude on Tuesday in Silivri, another district of the tourist-beloved city. 

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said the tremor struck in the Sea of Marmara at 1:59 p.m. at nearly 6.9 kilometers below ground. Residents of neighboring provinces reportedly felt the earthquake for 15 seconds; schools and public buildings were evacuated for a few hours after it took place. 

Luckily, there were no deaths reported in the aftermath of the incident. Speaking to local press, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said eight people were injured and had received treatment. 

The country's Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute recorded several aftershocks, with the highest scaling at 4.4 magnitude.

Terrifying images and videos capturing buildings shaking and people running to find shelter went viral on Twitter. 

That's because the country is crossed by fault lines — "a geological fracture where the movement of masses of rock have displaced parts of the earth's crust." 

On Oct. 23, 2011, southeastern Turkey was rocked by one of the most powerful earthquakes it ever recorded. The 7.2 magnitude quake left more than 200 people killed and another 1,000 injured. "Most of the victims were in the town of Ercis where dozens of buildings collapsed," according to the Independent. 

In 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.6 in magnitude struck the city of Izmit, which lies around 90 km southeast of Istanbul. The natural disaster - which is considered the country's most devastating -  killed more than 17,000 people. It eventually led to the retightening of building codes and the passing of laws requiring earthquake insurance.