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“The Big Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: What You Need to Know”
NEW YORK (AP) — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake followed by another powerful quake devastated large parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday, killing thousands of people.
Here’s what you should know:
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 18 kilometers and was concentrated in southern Turkey near Syria’s northern border.
Many aftershocks have shaken the two countries since the first tremor. In the first 11 hours, the region felt 13 significant aftershocks with a magnitude of at least 5, said Alex Hatem, a USGS research geologist.
Another strong tremor – magnitude 7.5 – hit Turkey nine hours after the main shock. Although scientists investigated whether it was an aftershock, they agreed that the two tremors are related.
“Given the size of the main shock, more aftershocks are certainly expected,” Hatem said. “We expect the aftershocks to continue in the coming days, weeks and months.”
WHAT KIND OF EARTHQUAKE WAS THAT?
Researchers said the quake was a strike-thrust quake, with two tectonic plates sliding horizontally past each other.
The Earth is divided into different pieces “like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Eric Sandvol, a seismologist at the University of Missouri.
These pieces meet at break lines where the plates normally slowly grind against each other. But once enough tension builds up, they can zip past each other quickly, releasing a great deal of energy in the process.
In this case, one plate moved west while the other moved east – they jolted past each other to create the quake, Hatem said.
Over time, aftershocks will subside and become less frequent, Sandvol said.
ARE EARTHQUAKE COMMON IN THIS AREA?
The quake occurred in a seismically active area known as the East Anatolian Fault Zone, which has a history of damaging earthquakes.
“Almost all of Turkey is really seismically active,” Sandvol said. “This is nothing new for the country.”
Turkey was hit by another major earthquake in January 2020 – a magnitude of 6.7, causing extensive damage in the eastern part of the country. In 1999, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck near Istanbul, killing an estimated 18,000 people.
WHY WAS THIS EARTHQUAKE SO DEVASTATING?
The earthquake was strong – especially for a landquake. Typically, very strong earthquakes happen underwater, Margarita Segou, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said in an email.
In addition, the quake hit near densely populated areas. The epicenter was near Gaziantep, a major city and provincial capital in Turkey.
There were also buildings at risk in the affected regions, said Kishor Jaiswal, a USGS structural engineer.
While new buildings in cities like Istanbul have been designed with modern seismic standards in mind, there are many older high-rise buildings in this area of southern Turkey, Jaiswal said. Rapid construction in Syria — plus years of war — may also have left structures vulnerable, researchers said.
Officials reported thousands of buildings collapsed after the earthquake. These included “pancake” collapses, where the upper floors of a building fall directly onto lower floors — a sign the buildings were unable to absorb the tremors, Jaiswal said.
Rescue efforts were hampered by freezing temperatures and traffic jams from local residents attempting to leave areas affected by the quake.
“This is the horrific level of devastation and destruction that we would expect,” said Ilan Kelman, disaster and health expert at University College London, when a powerful quake hits a region with buildings that have not been shored up.
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AP journalists Jill Lawless and Cassandra Allwood contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Maddie Burakoff, The Associated Press
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