More than 4,300 people were killed and thousands injured in a massive earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, in the early hours of Monday (6/2) local time.
Not only once, the earthquake that occurred near the city of Gaziantep was followed by many aftershocks, including one that was almost as large as the first.
Why is it so deadly?
Measuring 7.8 magnitude, the earthquake in Turkey is a major earthquake. This earthquake ruptured about 100 km from the fault line, causing serious damage to buildings near the fault.
"Of the deadliest earthquakes in a given year, only two in the last 10 years were of the same strength, and four in the last 10," said Prof Joanna Faure Walker, Head of the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London. from the BBC, Tuesday (7/2/2023).
But it's not just the power of the vibrations that cause the devastation. This incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, when most people were still sleeping in their homes. The weakness of the building is also a factor, the number of casualties.
"Unfortunately, the surviving infrastructure is unequal in Southern Turkey and especially Syria, so saving lives now largely depends on the response, the next 24 hours are critical to finding survivors. After 48 hours the number of survivors is drastically reduced," said Dr Carmen Solana, reader in volcanology and risk communication at the University of Portsmouth.
Of note, this is an area that hasn't had a major earthquake in over 200 years or any warning signs, so the level of preparedness will be lower than areas that are more used to earthquakes.
Cause of the earthquake
The Earth's crust is made up of separate pieces, called plates, which lie next to one another.
These plates often try to move but are prevented by friction with adjacent plates. But sometimes the pressure builds up to the point that one of the plates suddenly jerks, causing the surface to move.
In this case, the Arabian plate is moving north and rubbing against the Anatolian plate. The friction of these plates has caused some of the most destructive earthquakes in the past.
On August 13, 1822 there was an earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude, much smaller than the 7.8 magnitude earthquake recorded on Monday (6/2).
Even so, 19th century earthquakes caused great damage to cities in the area, there were 7,000 deaths recorded in Aleppo City. The damaging aftershocks continued for nearly a year.
There have been several aftershocks after the current quake and scientists predict these events will follow the same trend as previous major quakes in the region.
How are earthquakes measured?
Earthquakes are measured on a scale called the Moment Magnitude (Mw) Scale. This measurement has replaced the once more familiar Richter Scale, but is now considered obsolete and less accurate.
The number associated with the earthquake represents the combination of the distance the fault line has moved and the force that moved it.
Vibrations of 2.5 magnitude or less usually cannot be felt, but can be detected with instruments. Earthquakes up to magnitude 5 can be felt and cause minor damage. The Turkey earthquake at magnitude 7.8, is classified as a major earthquake and usually causes serious damage, as happened in this case. Furthermore, earthquakes above magnitude 8 cause major damage and can completely devastate the community at the center.
Turkey earthquake compared to other major earthquakes
An earthquake off the coast of Japan in 2011 was recorded as a magnitude 9 and caused extensive damage on land, and a tsunami that caused a major accident at a nuclear plant along the coast.
Apart from that, there was also the largest earthquake ever recorded, namely an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 in Chile in 1960. There was also the 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami with a magnitude of 9.1-9.3.