The earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria early Monday morning is likely one of the deadliest in a decade. Over the past 20 years, almost a million people have died as a result of earthquakes on the Richter scale. Monday’s quake caused a rupture of more than 100 kilometers between the tectonic plates of Anatolia and Arabia, according to several seismologists.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The epicenter is located about 26 kilometers east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi, at a depth of about 18 kilometers in the East Anatolian Fault, Reuters reports. The earthquake was felt with great intensity in Turkey and in the northwestern region of Syria early Monday morning.
During the 20th century, the East Anatolian Fault generated little seismic activity. Since 1970, there have been only three earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 6.0 on the Richter scale, according to the USGS.
How strong was this earthquake?
In the last two decades, according to Reuters, some of the deadliest earthquakes in the world have claimed the lives of almost a million people. In 2010, an earthquake in Haiti killed more than 300,000 people. In 2011, an earthquake followed by a tsunami in Japan killed more than 15,000 people and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Why was it so serious?
The East Anatolian Fault is a fault-slip fault. That is, the plates rub against a vertical fault until they finally slide in a horizontal motion, releasing a huge amount of stress that can trigger an earthquake.
The San Andreas Fault in California is arguably the most famous fault in the world, and scientists have warned several times that a catastrophic earthquake could have happened a long time ago.
The initial destruction of the Turkish-Syrian earthquake began at a relatively shallow depth. The push will be stronger because he was on the surface. If it had gone deeper, by the same amount, it might have been less catastrophic, explains David Rothery, a British geologist.
What pushes can be expected?
Eleven minutes after the initial quake, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the region. A few hours later, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck, followed by another earthquake of magnitude 6.0 in the afternoon.
“Now we are seeing how seismic activity spreads to neighboring faults,” said the British researcher. Roger Musson.
What could be the expected number of deaths?
“They will number in the thousands. They can even reach tens of thousands, ”Musson explains, adding that freezing temperatures reduce the chances of survival for all those who find themselves under the rubble.
Author: Philip Novais
Source: CM Jornal
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