A major quake hit at 1:41 p.m. local time and was followed by at least seven aftershocks. According to the USGS a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit eastern Turkey (MAP EPICENTER 38.628°N, 43.486°E) Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 10:41:21 UTC or Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 01:41:21 PM at the epicenter
Television images from Van Province, Turkey showed rescuers and citizens climbing over piles of cinderblocks where a building once stood. A seven-story building collapsed on Kazim Karabekir Street in Van, Turkey. The epicenter was located just northeast of Van, Turkey.
There is concern that was from the surge of the earthquake could affect the coast on the west side of Lake Van.