The devastating effects of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Luis Martinez

9 minutes

schematic of an earthquake

Last Monday a devastating earthquake in turkey and syria. It has been an earthquake 7,8 degrees on the Richter scale with numerous aftershocks that have caused thousands of fatalities and many more injuries.

We are going to talk to you in depth about this fatal event and its terrible effects. But, first, we have to stop to explain how and why the event in that territory has been unleashed. Likewise, it is important to analyze what consequences it will have for the Mediterranean basin.

How did the earthquake in Turkey and Syria happen?

reproduction of an earthquake

Drawing that represents how an earthquake occurs

Following everything we have explained to you, the earthquake that occurred last Monday in Turkey and Syria was of a type tectonic. It is a high-risk area because in it three plates converge: the Arabian, the African and the Eurasian. By left wing, an expert from the National Seismic Network of Spain, in the incident last Monday "the first and third of them moved laterally due to pressure from the African and pushed the so-called westward anatolian block triggering the earthquake.

In turn, the latter is a block of about seven hundred kilometers surrounded by the three previous plates and separated from them by a fault. In fact, Turkey is a country that frequently suffers this type of tragedy. Is found in one of the most seismically active places on the planet. In 2022 alone she recorded a few twenty thousand, of which almost one hundred thirty exceeded four degrees on the Richter scale.

However, among the oldest large earthquakes, it is worth remembering the one from 1939 with epicenter at Erzincan o the one from 1999 what caused seventeen thousand fatalities. But the most tragic to date was the one that happened in January 2020, which originated twenty thousand.

As for the Syria, joins this tragedy to the civil war who has suffered for years. But Raed Ahmed, head of the country's National Center for Seismic Monitoring, has already described this earthquake as "the worst in its history."

On the other hand, according to Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the epicenter of the earthquake last Monday was in the Turkish city of Pazarcik, located in the province of kahramanmaras, at South of that country. However, another agency, the Kandilli seismic observatory, located it forty kilometers further south, in the city of sofalici, which belongs to the equally Ottoman province of Gaziantep.

Timeline of the Turkish and Syrian earthquake

2015 Nepal earthquake

Devastation caused by the 2015 Nepal earthquake

the earthquake of 7,8 degrees it took place at XNUMX:XNUMX local Turkish time. It occurred at a depth of about eighteen kilometers, which increased its intensity. A few minutes later, there was a 6,7 degree aftershock and a few hours later he ore even more intense than 7,6. These were the most important, but it is estimated that there have been thousands of them. From the very beginning, the severity of the earthquake was evident, as the victims were increasing exponentially every minute in Turkey. About Syria, the information was scarcer due to the very war situation in which it is found. We know that, in this country, the most affected provinces have been those of Latakia, Tartus, Hama and Aleppo.

For his part, going back to Türkiye, the devastating effects have been recorded in the south of the country. Specifically, the most affected area is the region of Anatolia. To her belongs the province of Gaziantep, which we have already mentioned as the epicenter of the earthquake. It is one of the two that has suffered the most damage and its capital, of the same name, is the ninth city in the country, with two million inhabitants.

Even worse is the situation in the province of kahramanmaras, which we have also cited as a hypothetical epicenter and which has a million inhabitants. It is a mountainous region where there is heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. All this complicates rescue tasks of the victims. The same happens in the province of Malatya and there have even been damages, although much lesser, in the Diyarbakir, which is further away. In all, they have been ten affected provinces on Turkish territory. And this leads us to talk about the tragic earthquake effects.

Effects of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria

seismogram

A seismogram or reproduction of seismic waves

As we have already told you, last Monday's earthquake is one of the worst that has been recorded in the area in recent years. It is still early to measure its devastating effects, but we are already learning about the most tragic, which are the fatalities. It is true that there are still no definitive records because bodies continue to be found.

At the risk of being outdated by new data, we will give you what is known at this time. In Türkiye 3400 fatalities and 20 injuries have already been recorded. It is more difficult to count Syria because of the war situation that we have mentioned to you. But, adding the figures offered by the government and by the white helmets that carry out their work on the ground, there is talk of 1600 deaths.

However, the predictions go further. The World Health Organization expected to be achieved more than twenty thousand fatalities. Worse still are the projections of the seismology service of United States. In view of the circumstances, they estimate that the number rises to more than thirty thousand. They even point out that it could be reached until sixty thousand.

On the other hand, although they are less important, the material damages are also very serious because they are going to suppose that thousands of people stay on the street and suffer misery. To give you an idea, buildings have collapsed three hundred kilometers away from the epicenter. As far as Turkey is concerned, the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, which we have already named you, calculate that almost three thousand buildings have been destroyed. Due to the intense cold of this time of the year, it is imperative to find refuge for all the survivors who have lost their homes.

Tsunami

Infographic of how a tsunami forms

For the time being, according to the Turkish government, accommodation has been given to about four hundred thousand people in buildings of the Ministries of Education and Sports. However, it has been launched orderly evacuation of the ten affected provinces to provide shelter to the survivors in safe areas. At the same time, the president of the country has asked international aid.

His request has not taken long to be heard. The European Union has already moved to the area almost thirty rescue teams belonging to nineteen countries. In total, there are about XNUMX rescuers with XNUMX dogs specialized in these tasks. But the aid does not stop arriving from all parts of the world and the airports that continue to function despite the earthquake have collapsed.

Finally, we will tell you that the magnitude of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has been so great that the governments of Italy y Spain declared yesterday the alert of tsunami in case one of these phenomena could occur. However, the authorities have indicated that this is a preventive measure that is implemented as a caution.

In conclusion, the Turkey and Syria earthquake it has been devastating. We will still have to wait a few days to know its final effects. It only remains for us to ask that help the victims to the extent of your possibilities. But do it safely. The Association of Network Users and Consumers (CONSUMER) has warned of possible fraud in the request for donations. To avoid them, he recommends us to do them through official or well-recognized organizations.

How does an earthquake occur?

Chilean earthquake

Damage from the 2010 Chile earthquake

All the causes that cause an earthquake of this type are varied. But, basically, they are all related to the Earth crust. This is formed by tectonic plates They are always on the move, even if we don't notice it.

On the other hand, in the cortex there are failures, which are a kind of cracks in its matter through which these tectonic plates move. One of the most important in the world is the San Andres en California. When two or more of these plates collide on one of these faults, the earthquake originates. The place where they collide is called hypocenter, but the area where the damage is greatest is the epicenter. Because of their origin, this type of earthquake is called tectonics, but there are also volcanic earthquakes. However, what happened in Turkey and Syria is one of the first.

Every year there may be around three hundred thousand events of this kind on our planet. What happens is that the vast majority of them are not even physically appreciated. On the other hand, earthquakes are measured according to the so-called Richter scale. It ranges from two to ten, the first being the lowest or microseisms.

However, you should know that this scale does not measure the amount of the earthquake, but the amount of energy it releases. Likewise, according to her, values ​​greater than eight are considered epic or catastrophic. If you take into account that last Monday had a category of 7,8 degrees, you will understand its severity.

However, experts often say that an earthquake has been greater than seven on the Richter scale. This happens because, since 1978, the largest magnitude earthquakes are not measured with it, but with the seismic moment magnitude scale. This also measures the energy released by the earthquake, but is more accurate for high values.

 


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