After the tragic events in Turkey – two of the strongest earthquakes in almost 100 years on Monday and seismologists' forecasts after, it is not surprising that tourists are wondering where the underground element will hit next time in the current 2023. Alas, there is nothing special to please tourists. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet published a map of seismically dangerous regions of Turkey. And alas, most of the resort provinces are in the zone of direct or indirect danger. In general, a fault line runs through the whole of Turkey, where different tectonic plates collide.
N.B. As it turned out, Antalya can become a “new Kahramanmarash” – i.e. the city where today's earthquake occurred. Read the details in the article “An alarm sounded for tourism: a Turkish geophysicist said that a more terrible earthquake could hit Antalya.”
According to the publication, there are three main seismic zones in Turkey, so called fault lines: these are the North Anatolian fault line, the East Anatolian fault line and the West Anatolian fault line. The closer to the fault zone, the greater the degree of seismic hazard.
Alas, a significant part of the tourist provinces is just in the risk zone. For example, Antalya, the most popular among our tourists, is located in the “yellow” zone, the second most dangerous. Just like Istanbul. Although Istanbul is still in a more dangerous position. Such popular resorts as Izmir and Mugla were dangerously close to the tectonic fault. At the same time, being on the coast only adds risk factors – such as, for example, tsunamis.
Recall, early on Monday morning, a natural disaster hit Turkey: a terrible earthquake, the strongest in the last 20 years. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.4 points, which is a lot, and the “echo” of tremors was felt in more than 10 countries. At the same time, according to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred at 04:17 in the Pazardzhik region of Kahramanmaras. It was followed almost immediately, at 04:26, by another 6.4 magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which is located in the Nurdagi region of Gaziantep, near the Turkish-Syrian border. Aftershocks were felt throughout Turkey, right up to the resort provinces. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the earthquake occurred in the early morning, when everyone was still sleeping, so the preliminary number of dead and injured continues to grow. Read more here.
Then another earthquake occurred at 13:23, and the magnitude of the earthquake was registered as 7.8, the epicenter is the Elbistan district of Kahramanmarash province,” they say. It is also reported that new tremors are felt in Damascus, Latakia and several other provinces of Syria. And also in the capital of Turkey, Ankara, and in its main resort – Antalya. (Read more here)
Experts, however, do not console: about a year ago, Professor Hvalun Ahmet Ercan, a well-known expert in earthquake forecasting in Turkey, said that 2023 would be risky for Turkey in terms of earthquakes. He also called Istanbul a dangerous place. “Because 2020, 2021, 2022 and even 2023 will be the years of earthquakes in Turkey. One of the main sources of this is the shift of the tectonic plate, the fault of which passes through the territory of Turkey. And this movement accumulates gigantic energy, which is just released in the form of earthquakes. “During the earthquake in Geldzhuk in 1999, energy equivalent to 132 atomic bombs was released, depleting most of the voltage of Marmara. Later there was an earthquake in Duzce. As a result, the tension of the earth's crust in this region was removed,” the professor said.
“22 years have passed since that moment, and the tension has again become critical. This means that an earthquake can occur at any time as an output of the energy of the shifts. And after 2035, it is generally necessary to ring the bells: the most risky period will begin after 2045, and Istanbul will have a strong blow that can simply destroy the city, ”the scientist explained. Read more here.
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