Marmara shaken by 6.2 magnitude earthquake! Is there a tsunami risk?

A mini-tsunami was observed in the Sea of Marmara following the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Istanbul today.

In Turkey, which has a coastline of more than 8 thousand 300 kilometers, historical data has revealed that more than 90 tsunamis have been observed in the last 3 thousand years. While the Sea of Marmara is one of the regions where these natural disasters are most frequently observed, a small-scale surge was also effective on the coast during today's 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

According to a study published in the Journal of Seismology, more than 300 destructive earthquakes have occurred in the Sea of Marmara over the last 4 thousand 100 years, and it was stated that at least 40 of these caused tsunamis. The research noted that during the 1509 Istanbul Earthquake, giant 6-meter waves breached the Yenikapı walls, and that the 1894 and 1963 earthquakes also created significant tsunami effects on the Istanbul coast.

In a study commissioned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from the Japanese firm OYO Int. Co., 49 different tsunami scenarios were modeled for the Sea of Marmara; within the framework of these scenarios, it was determined that wave heights could reach up to 5.5 meters on the eastern coasts of Istanbul, and that the time for a tsunami to reach the shore is only 8 minutes.

According to earthquake experts, for a tsunami to occur in Istanbul, a tremor above 6.5 would be required to trigger the Sea of Marmara, which could cause waves to reach the shores. In a study conducted for the Sea of Marmara, the maximum possible wave height that could reach the Istanbul coast was calculated to be 5.6 meters.