Turkey, a long history of devastating earthquakes

People watch the destruction as rescuers search for survivors in the rubble following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 7, 2023. REUTERS - UMIT BEKTAS

Text by: RFI Follow

4 mins

Powerful earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday (February 6th), causing thousands of deaths and considerable material damage.

The region is unfortunately accustomed to deadly earthquakes, being located in a particularly active seismic zone.

Advertisement

Read more

This is not the first time that an earthquake has devastated the region.

And for good reason: Turkey is caught in a vice between three tectonic plates, the movements of which can cause considerable disasters.

Most of Turkey's territory lies on the Anatolian Plate, bordered to the north by the Eurasian Plate and to the southeast by the Arabian Plate.

It is one of the main seismic zones of the globe.

Monday's earthquake occurred at the level of the East Anatolian fault, that is to say at the junction between the Anatolian plate and the Arabian plate, about 700 km long.

The Arabian plate moved north, rubbing against the Anatolian plate.

Occurred in the middle of the night at 4:17 a.m. local time

(1:17 a.m. UT), according to the American seismological institute USGS, at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers, the epicenter is located in the district of Pazarcik, in the province of Kahramanmaras (south- East).

It was followed a few hours later by a second quake, with a magnitude of 7.5, four kilometers from the town of Ekinozu, in the south-east of the country.

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale hit southeastern Turkey, followed by a second tremor measuring 7.5.

© RFI Infography

This earthquake is the largest in Turkey since the earthquake of August 17, 1999 near Izmit, which caused the death of 17,000 people, including a thousand in Istanbul.

Following this, the authorities had multiplied risk prevention measures.

Welcome initiatives in a country which, since 1900, has recorded more than 210 earthquakes with a magnitude equal to or greater than 6 on the Richter scale, according to the government agency for disaster management (Afad).

Turkey's biggest earthquakes since 1900

♦

  2,803 people die when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Malazgirt district in the eastern province of Muş.

♦

: an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 hits the district of Şarköy, in the north-west of the province of Tekirdağ, causing the death of 2,836 people.

♦

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates the southwestern province of Burdur and kills 2,344 people.

♦

: 32,962 people die in a magnitude 7.9 earthquake - the strongest since the 17th century - which rocks northeastern Erzincan province and leaves the city in ruins.

♦

3,000 people die in a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hits the district of Niksar, in the central province of Tokat, in the Black Sea.

♦ 

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits the Ladik district of the Black Sea province of Samsun, killing 2,824 people.

♦

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Gerede district, Bolu province, western Black Sea, killing 3,959 people.

♦

  2,394 people die when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits the district of Varto, in the eastern province of Muş.

♦

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastates the district of Gediz, in the western province of Kütahya, killing 1,086 people.

♦

2,394 people die in a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Lice district in southeastern Diyarbakir province.

♦

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits Çaldıran district in eastern Van province, killing 3,840 people.

♦

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Horasan district in the eastern province of Erzurum, killing 1,155 people.

♦

17,480 people die in a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the Gölcük district of Izmit province, affecting a large part of the Marmara region.

Later in November, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits the neighboring province of Düzce, killing 710 people.

♦

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits eastern Van province, killing 644 people.

♦

In October, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea, southwest of Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, and near the Greek island of Samos, killing 116 people.

►

Map of earthquakes in Turkey between 1900 and 2020. © Phoenix7777/CC BY-SA 4./ Wikimedia Commons

Southeast Anatolia, the region where Monday's earthquake occurred, is an area at risk.

Major earthquakes have been observed there since antiquity.

The city of Antioch, for example, was hit hard twice by earthquakes with an estimated magnitude greater than 7, in 115 and 526, with more than 250,000 deaths each time.

But it has been 200 years since an earthquake of such magnitude hit this area.

The last dates back to August 13, 1822, when an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.4 caused tens of thousands of deaths (historians estimate the victims between 20 and 60,000) and very significant destruction.

Aftershocks reportedly continued to rock the region for nearly two years.

Since then, the lack of significant seismic activity has led the population to "

", according to Roger Musson, associate researcher at the British Geological Survey interviewed by AFP.

A duration which also means " 

 " along the fault.

Supposition supported by the occurrence of a powerful aftershock after the main shock.

When the tension becomes too strong, the plate advances abruptly and “ 

”.

►

In addition to the lack of preparation and the absence of a warning sign, the experts point to the time of the tragedy to explain the number of victims: at 4 a.m. local time, most of the inhabitants were sleeping at home and found themselves stuck when their houses collapsed.

But they also wonder about the building construction standards in the region, given the extent of the destruction observed.

But seismologists are also worried about aftershocks, which may still occur in the hours or days to come.

On Monday, no less than 185 aftershocks were recorded, following the first two tremors.

Several aftershocks were recorded in the night, Tuesday before dawn.

The strongest, of magnitude 5.5, was recorded at 6:13 a.m. (local time) 9 kilometers southeast of Gölbasi, in the south of the country.

The balance sheet continues to grow, while assessing the extent of the damage is still complicated.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Natural disasters

• Turkey

• Syria