Turkey Earthquake 2023

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7-Feb-2023: Turkey is hit by a devastating earthquake

Earthquake in Turkey:

  • Magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck along the Anatolia tectonic block.
  • The earthquake emerged from relatively shallow depths and was a “strike-slip quake”.
  • The strongest earthquake that Turkey has experienced in over a century and the worst disaster since 1939.
  • The 1939 Erzincan Earthquake caused extreme damage in the Erzincan Plain and the Kelkit River Valley.

Causes of Earthquakes in Turkey:

  • Complex tectonic interactions between African, Arabian, and Eurasian tectonic plates and the Anatolian tectonic block in the Eastern Mediterranean region
  • Turkey sits on the Anatolian tectonic plate, which borders two major faults:
    • North Anatolian Fault (NAF) line, a right-lateral strike-slip structure that accommodates much of the translational motion of the Anatolia block westwards with respect to Eurasia and Africa. It cuts across the country from west to east and is known to be particularly devastating.
    • East Anatolian Fault (EAF), a tectonic boundary between the Anatolian Plate and the northward-moving Arabian Plate. It runs 650 kilometers from eastern Turkey and into the Mediterranean.
  • The Aegean Sea Plate, located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea under southern Greece and western Turkey, is also a source of seismic activity in the region.
  • Almost 95% of Turkey's land mass is prone to earthquakes, while about a third of the country is at high risk, including the areas around the major cities of Istanbul and Izmir and the region of East Anatolia.

Different types of earthquakes

Regular earthquake

  • Vertical movement of plates
  • Occurs along divergent or convergent plate boundaries

Strike-slip earthquake

  • Horizontal movement of plates
  • Occurs along transform boundaries
  • Causes of strike-slip fault earthquakes
    • Movement of plates against one another
    • Release of built-up strain

Shallow Earthquakes

Earthquake that occurs at a shallow depth, usually within the Earth's crust, near the surface.

Characteristics

  • Depth of less than 70 km
  • Strong ground shaking and surface faulting
  • More damaging than deep earthquakes

Factors affecting damage caused

  • Magnitude of the earthquake
  • Distance from the epicenter
  • Depth of the earthquake
  • Type of soil and geological conditions at the surface

Secondary hazards

  • Landslides
  • Rockfalls
  • Other hazards