Frightening warning from experts for Kahramanmaraş! They announced the magnitude of the potential earthquake: That fault has not broken yet

Prof. Dr. Hasan Sözbilir, a faculty member at the Department of Geological Engineering at Dokuz Eylül University and a member of the AFAD Scientific Support Board, stated that they are conducting research on the Maraş, Bingöl, and Dead Sea faults, which have not yet broken in the region following the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes.

Sözbilir noted that two major earthquakes occurred on February 6, 2023, centered in Pazarcık and Elbistan, and that these two faults were on the East Anatolian Fault Line.

Pointing out that many scientists are conducting research on other faults in the region and that faults that did not break during these major earthquakes are being prioritized, Sözbilir said, "There is a fault passing through Kahramanmaraş that we call the Maraş Fault Zone. That fault has not broken yet. This fault has the potential to produce an earthquake of up to 6.8 magnitude."

Stating that they opened 5 trenches on the southernmost active branch of the Maraş Fault Zone and revealed the age of this fault, the intervals at which it produced earthquakes in the past, and when it last produced an earthquake, Sözbilir said, "We have received the results of this study and, accordingly, we have recommended to our state that the southernmost part of the Maraş Fault Zone has the highest activity and therefore this part should be closed to construction. It is not a long fault like the East Anatolian Fault, but we have determined that it has produced 3 earthquakes in the last 10,000 years and has an earthquake recurrence interval of nearly 3,000 years."

Stating that the last earthquake on the Maraş Fault Zone occurred in the 1500s, Sözbilir reported that they have also obtained data indicating that earthquakes originating from the East Anatolian Fault also affect this branch.

YEDİSU SEGMENT AND DEAD SEA FAULT

Sözbilir stated that segments such as Narlı, Erkenek, Pazarcık, and Amanos broke in the first of the February 6 earthquakes, while the Çardak and Doğanşehir faults broke in the second, noting that the Malatya Fault, which is located to the north of these faults, has not yet broken.

Explaining that the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Malatya on October 16, with its epicenter in the Kale district, broke the previously unbroken fault between Erkenek and Pütürge, and that there are no unbroken parts left on this fault toward the Elazığ side, Sözbilir drew attention to the fact that there are still unbroken parts on the Bingöl side.

Prof. Dr. Sözbilir noted the following:

"There are unbroken parts further north on the Bingöl side. This is the region where the Yedisu Segment is located. It is a branch of the North Anatolian Fault. The part of the East Anatolian Fault on the Bingöl side has not broken yet either. More precisely, earthquakes are expected there. Because they are classified as seismic gaps. In other words, their earthquake interval suggests that they should produce an earthquake today.

Another important place is, of course, further south; when we go south from Pazarcık, there is the Dead Sea Fault there as well. This fault did not break during the February 6 earthquakes either. Fault segments that remain within our national borders, such as Sakçagöz, Yesemek, and Hacıpaşa, have not yet broken. We are also conducting studies on them."