The earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria - today, Monday - attracted special attention from seismologists and geologists around the world, as they considered it one of the strongest earthquakes ever, and warned of possible consequences.
The earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, and an aftershock followed 11 minutes later with a magnitude of 7.6, which caused massive destruction and left thousands dead and injured, while hundreds of people are still stuck under the rubble.
Specialists described the earthquake as the largest in the history of the region, and only the Erzincan earthquake that occurred in northeastern Turkey in 1939, which caused great damage at that time, is close to it in strength.
Experts confirmed that the world has witnessed many strong earthquakes during the past years, but the proximity of this earthquake to areas of population concentration is what caused a large number of victims today, Monday.
"The earthquake occurred near the Syrian border, in an area with a high population density," wrote seismologist Stephen Hicks - in a tweet.
Hicks added that according to the initial news and images, it is clear that the earthquake will be recorded as one of the largest earthquakes that occurred in a residential area in the history of the globe.
The specialists also discussed through communication platforms the possible effects of the earthquake and the possibility of repercussions during the coming period, especially with its great strength.
Seismic waves from the M7.8 (USGS) earthquake in Southern Turkey crossing Europe.
Each dot is a seismic station.
(GMV) https://t.co/6cY0RObbXv pic.twitter.com/SHbdkxQXzD
- Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) February 6, 2023
Italian concerns
And the Italian Civil Protection Department had warned - in a statement today, Monday - of the possibility of consequences of the earthquake on the Italian coasts, which could reach a tsunami, and recommended citizens to stay away from coastal areas and follow the instructions during the current time.
đź”´ ALLERTA POSSIBILE #MAREMOTO SULLE COSTE ITALIANE in seguito all'evento sismico in #Turchia.
Si raccomanda di allontanarsi dalla costa e di seguire le indicazioni delle autoritĂ locali
[Aggiornamento #6febbraio ore 3:15] https://t.co/N6XMaK9TQz
— Dipartimento Protezione Civile (@DPCgov) February 6, 2023
Authorities in Italy have warned of a potential tsunami risk.
A strike-slip earthquake like this is unlikely to produce a tsunami - no vertical ground movement - but it's possible if shaking triggers submarine landslides.
Better safe than sorry?
7/https://t.co/OUir2dhtiz
— Dr.
Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 6, 2023
The specialists stressed that the strength of the earthquake may cause many consequences, most notably the occurrence of landslides in separate places, and this may happen under the seas, but it is unlikely that the matter will reach a tsunami.
Seismologist Susan Hoff indicated - in her tweet - that creating a complete model that shows what happened and the distribution of vibrations may take some time, as it takes some pictures from the satellite to show how the earth moved.
The world has seen bigger magnitudes than this over the past 10-20 years, but quakes close to M8 are not common on shallow strike-slip fault systems, and by virtue of proximity to population centers can be especially deadly.
https://t.co/iIhA5KH2Q3
— Dr.
Susan Hough 🦖 (@SeismoSue) February 6, 2023
Previous warnings
Although the event surprised millions, it was not the case for many geology and earthquake experts. Some warnings came out during the past days of the possibility of an earthquake in the region.
Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).
#deprem pic.twitter.com/6CcSnjJmCV
— Frank Hoogerbeets (@hogrbe) February 3, 2023
The SSGEOS Center, which specializes in earthquake prediction, warned on January 30 of the possibility of strong seismic activity in that region, and many re-shared those tweets after the disaster.
Weak fluctuation could indicate a potential for stronger seismic activity in or near the purple band 1-6 days.
This is an estimate.
Other regions are not excluded.
pic.twitter.com/P9Ne6jruJ8
— SSGEOS (@ssgeos) January 30, 2023
The earthquake came while Turkey is witnessing a strong snow storm these days, which made some link the two events.
Earthquake risk specialist Brian Olsen responded to some people's questions about the earthquake's connection to the wave of cold weather hitting Turkey these days, saying that there is no connection between them, as earthquakes occur throughout the year and are not affected by weather conditions.
Earthquakes do not care about weather.
Today's M7.8 quake hit w/ temps in the 30s & snow on the ground.
In 2019, the M7.1 quake struck in July w/ temps in the 100s.
#earthquake #earthquakeweather https://t.co/CU8hOWJSD7
— Brian Olson (@mrbrianolson) February 6, 2023