The ground is slipping under your feet. Geophysicist says Turkey has shifted several meters to the southwest

All about the causes and consequences of the earthquake in Turkey, the forecasts of climatologists and seismologists.

In the early morning hours of February 6, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey and parts of Syria. The News Bulletin writes that the natural disaster resulted in the death of more than 5,000 people and injured thousands.

in 24News Breaker. Technology emerged telegraph channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss the latest and exciting news from the world of science!

About 9 hours later, a second magnitude 7.5 shock followed, one of the strongest aftershocks, but researchers insist that an event of this magnitude could be termed a standalone earthquake. In total, more than two hundred aftershocks followed the earthquake.

the earthquake caused

The causes and consequences of the strong earthquake were interpreted by Carlo Donioli, President of the Italian National Geophysics Institute. According to him, it is already known that the fault is active for at least 150 kilometers, with a displacement of more than three meters.

According to Danioli, what we call the Arabian Plate has shifted a little more than 3 meters in a northeast-southwest direction relative to the Anatolian Plate on which Turkey is located. The professor notes that scientists are getting more and more data every hour, but now there is only one thing that can be said for sure – the bug became more active in just a few seconds. As a result, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8-7.9 occurred, which can rightly be called a “mega earthquake”.

Dinoli states that we are talking about continuous motion when the fault plane is very sloped and we can observe the horizontal displacement of the two sides of the fault. In other words: “Turkey seems to have moved southwest with respect to the Arabian plate.”

vulnerable to earthquake

The fact is that most of Turkey lies between two faults – North Anatolian and Eastern Anatolia – in the Anatolian plate. At the same time, the tectonic plate that actually carries Arabia, including Syria, collides with the southern tip of Eurasia in the north, forcing Turkey to emerge westward. According to Virginia Open University geologist David Rothery, Turkey moves approximately 2 centimeters westward each year and runs along the East Anatolian fault, half of which is now threatened by earthquakes.

All this means that the mega-quake on February 6 was “no surprise”, according to Seyhun Puszulcu, a seismologist and coordinator of the Turkish Earthquake Foundation in Istanbul.

In the past, a group of researchers from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara suggested that a 6.5-magnitude earthquake could potentially cause moderate to severe damage in downtown Gaziantep. The main reason, the researchers said, is that most of the buildings found here are low brick buildings placed close together.

Why was the earthquake so deadly?

According to Professor Joanna Fore Walker, head of the University College London Institute for Risk Reduction and Disaster Mitigation, the earthquake in Turkey reached 7.8 points on the official magnitude scale, putting it in the category of mega earthquakes and one of the strongest in the past 10 years.

The fault, which became active in an area of ​​approximately 150 kilometers, caused serious damage to the buildings nearby. However, not only was the magnitude of the quake making it so deadly, scientists note that another factor is that the event occurred in the early morning hours, when most people were still sleeping in their apartments.

Another factor that is also responsible for the number of victims is the robustness of buildings in Turkey. University of Portsmouth volcanic activity and risk communication expert Dr. According to Carmen Solana, the reality is that sustainable infrastructure is unfortunately not homogeneous in Turkey and especially in Syria – as a result, saving the lives of those affected is highly dependent on time. reply. The researchers warn that the first 24 hours are extremely important for finding survivors, because after 48 hours their potential numbers will drop sharply.

What’s next?

Locals need to be prepared for worsening weather as well as more earthquakes and aftershocks, according to Ilan Kelman, who studies disasters and health at University College London.

The researchers warn that the threat of repeated earthquakes and aftershocks will continue for weeks and possibly even months to come. Additionally, forecasters predict temperatures here will soon drop below zero, which is extremely dangerous for survivors still trapped under the rubble – those who haven’t yet been under the rubble risk freezing to death.

Previously Focus He wrote about the earthquake in Turkey: A seismologist explained why it was so devastating.

Source: Focus

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest