Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) stretches from eastern Turkey all the way to the Aegean Sea, while the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) runs from eastern to south-central Turkey.

This was followed by a second powerful tremor, causing significant damage to buildings and roads in southern and southeastern areas of the country.

The earthquake that struck the coast near Marmaris is one of several to hit Turkey this year.

In April, about 236 residents were injured after jumping from buildings in panic following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Istanbul.

Many residents were also forced to spend the night outdoors after powerful aftershocks.

The European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (EFEHR), a non profit aimed at improving risk assessment, determines earthquake risk using multiple factors.

They include the following popular tourist destinations in their areas at heightened risk:

- Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey

- Catania and Naples in Italy

- Santorini and Athens

A Greek earthquake expert has said that the “main characteristic” of the quake that struck Turkey and the Greek islands was its depth.

Professor Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Greek Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation, told Travel Weekly: “This depth allows us to say that although it was felt in a wider area of the Dodecanese and Turkey, it will not have significant effects on the surface; there will be no tsunami and, above all, there will be no rich aftershock sequence.”

Several other small earthquakes were recorded throughout Europe throughout the course of Tuesday.

Separately, a 2.2 magnitude earthquake was recorded in central Italy at 2.43pm.

None of these earthquakes were powerful enough to cause any damage to buildings.

Earlier we reported how a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the south coast of Crete on Tuesday afternoon.

This comes just a week after a powerful magnitude 6.1 quake occurred north-east of Crete on May 23.

No injuries or major damage were reported, but popular tourist spots the Samaria and Imbros gorges remained closed throughout the day as a precaution.

A total of 282 reports were made to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) about the earthquake in Marmaris.

The USGS, which monitors and assesses global earthquakes, said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

The epicentre of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake was just outside the Turkish resort town of Marmaris. It hit at 2.17am local time.

Heavy shaking was felt in Rhodes, just 29km to the south, as well as on other islands around the Aegean Sea.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) explains that earthquakes are the result of “sudden movement along faults within the earth”.

The outermost layer of the earth’s structure, known as the lithosphere, consists of 15 giant tectonic plates the size of continents.

These move constantly in relation to one another, drifting apart, coming together or sliding past.

Beneath the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere, which behaves like an extremely slow-moving liquid over time, meaning the plates above it never sit entirely stationary.

According to the BGS, there are three main possible drivers behind the movement of tectonic plates.

These are the warm mantle convection currents carrying them “like a conveyor belt”, oceanic ridge push causing one warmer plate to shove against and rise above another, and slab pull, which occurs when one older, colder plate sinks beneath another.

Joe Sommerlad explains in more detail below.

Turkey experienced one of the most severe earthquakes in recent memory in 2023, when a magnitude 7.8 quake killed more than 53,000 people.

The earthquake destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces in the country.

Around 6,000 people died in northern areas of neighbouring Syria.