After a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaraş, we received another big blow before we could heal our wounds with the second 7.6 earthquake we experienced. So why are there so many earthquakes in our country? The reason lies in the fact that we are stuck between huge plates.
We have left behind perhaps the longest and coldest night of our country’s last century. We have many long nights ahead of us. The wreckage of this earthquake will continue for a while. With search and rescue teams from both our country and all over the world, local people are trying to save the people who were under the rubble. But we know this is not the first time. As with other earthquakes, this The earthquake was not a surprise for our country either. We are in an earthquake zone and we need to build our buildings with this awareness.
Although it is very popular to invest in concrete in our country, Our contractors do not care too much about the quality of concrete. When we do this, we encounter disasters on a larger scale than we have perhaps ever seen before. Let us remind you once again that unstable structures will kill, not earthquakes. Now that we know that the real culprit is not the earthquake, let’s look at why there are so many earthquakes in our country.
The main reason why Turkey is an earthquake zone is that the Anatolian plate is constantly being pushed by the Arabian and African plates.
The Anatolian plate is a region that is constantly compressed and creates earthquakes. subducting under the Anatolian plate along the Hellenic-Cyprus arc. The African plate causes earthquakes in Eastern Anatolia, NAF (North Anatolian fault line), EAF (Eastern Anatolian fault line) and Western Anatolia (Aegean) regions. Another major plate pushing the Anatolian plate is the Arabian plate. The Arabian plate is constantly pushing the Anatolian plate to the west.
The Arabian plate pushing the Anatolian plate over the Eastern Anatolian fault line is the main reason why our country is in an earthquake zone. The areas where the African-Arabian plate collides with another major plate, Eurasia, are the parts of Europe. From the Alps to the Himalayas It forms an earthquake belt in a very wide area. In the Anatolian plate, which is between these two large tectonic plates, severe earthquakes are experienced.
Earth scientist Prof. Dr. Celal Şengör explained the reasons for these earthquakes, which had devastating effects in 10 provinces, as follows:
Editor’s note: If we know everything, why don’t we take precautions?
The information that Turkey is located in an earthquake zone is not a new information we have obtained. There were earthquakes here long before we came to these geographies. Even though we know very well the geopolitical position of the places we will settle in, it puts human life in second place when it comes to money. contractors and managements that cannot provide adequate control They are seen as the main culprits behind the loss of so many lives in the earthquake we are currently experiencing.
As in everything else, we believe that we will leave this period behind together. What about the people who have/will cost the lives of so many people? Will they be punished? I guess time will tell. Kahramanmaraş today, Kütahya tomorrow, Istanbul the next day… We need to learn to live with earthquakes. Our hope is that everyone who is currently under the rubble is removed in a healthy way. Let’s not forget that we can only get through this process together.
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