We are shaking, but it is our spirits that are collapsing the most!

Like many people, I downloaded an earthquake warning app on my phone after the 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Istanbul. Now, with every small tremor, my phone vibrates; sometimes before the earthquake, sometimes after... I don't know, perhaps these vibrations are no longer just warnings of the earth moving, but of the storms breaking out in our souls.

The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Silivri on April 23 caused great panic in Istanbul and its surroundings. 

Following the earthquake, experts made very different statements. Prof. Dr. Naci Görür stated that this earthquake might have brought the expected major Marmara earthquake closer and warned that a "7.2 magnitude earthquake is a matter of time." Prof. Dr. Ahmet Ercan said, "The recent M6.2 earthquake showed that the North Marmara fault does not consist of a single piece. There will be a rupture with two earthquakes, one being the Thrace branch and the other the Istanbul branch. 

The largest expected earthquake is M7.0-M7.2. Since the last earthquake shortened the fault length by 28 km, I expect it to have dropped to M6.9-M7.1 on the Thrace branch, and I expect two earthquakes between M6.4-M6.7 on the Istanbul branch." Prof. Şener Üşümezsoy noted that he did not expect a major earthquake after the 6.2 magnitude one. 

Those who believed Şener Üşümezsoy slept soundly. Those who believed Naci Görür left Istanbul for a while. 

Istanbulites are in a state of not knowing which information to trust or which warning to heed. Yet, this is a city that still carries the trauma of the 1999 Marmara Earthquake. According to recent studies, 7 out of every 10 people in Istanbul believe that a major earthquake will happen "very soon." In another study, 60% of people have prepared an emergency bag, but 80% are not sure about the earthquake resistance of the building they live in. In such an unprepared city, when information pollution is added on top, fear becomes inevitable. The fact that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor İmamoğlu was in Silivri, the epicenter of the earthquake, at the time also increased the anxiety. 

Currently, in most districts of Istanbul, people facing sudden tremors in the middle of the night (especially in Beylikdüzü and Büyükçekmece) are restless and sleepless. Children cry out of fear, the elderly spend the night by the windows, and young people follow breaking news on their phones in the streets. 

Everyone is asking the same question: "Is this just the beginning?" But no one can give a clear answer.

Science debates, that is true. However, guiding the public correctly and managing anxiety is at least as vital as strengthening the columns of buildings. These days, we need solid information, a language that inspires confidence, and most of all, a bit of clarity amidst the uncertainty. 

Because sometimes, a city collapses not from shaking, but from not knowing what to do.