The damage was far worse than I thought it would be, and it was terrible to see that buildings in Istanbul and elsewhere had collapsed. In some cases, only one out of six buildings in a development was left standing, with the other ones being pancaked flat. I told one of my coworkers about two weeks ago that Istanbul would be a pretty dangerous place to be during an earthquake, since most of the buildings under 10 stories or so are made from cinder block. Supposedly, there's a standard that any buildings constructed after 1980 must be able to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0, but according to a BBC report, fewer than half of the buildings in the Istanbul area meet that standard. Where I live, things are absolutely normal.
Buses are running, shops are open, people are in the cafes.
I haven't even seen a cracked window. I am very thankful that there is no bad news to report from me personally. My little world here in Istanbul hasn't really been affected much by the quake. Watching Turkish television lets me see more complete and honest coverage of the efforts than I could get on CNN, and the situation is horrible. And there are more of those every hour.