Warning on Istanbul earthquake from expert: 'Turkey could be left under the rubble'

As part of the earthquake action plan efforts by the Adana Metropolitan Municipality, a "Fault Lines and Earthquake Panel in Adana" was held.

Before the panel, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Pampal, founding president of the Gazi University Earthquake Research Center and member of the Chamber of Geological Engineers' Earthquake Advisory Board, reacted to comments suggesting that "the Savrun fault will break, Adana will be destroyed," stating, "There is no such thing."

Pampal also issued warnings regarding the expected Istanbul earthquake. Warning of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or higher, Pampal stated, "If Istanbul is destroyed, Turkey could be buried under it. We could all be buried under it."

Prof. Dr. Pampal explained that 11 provinces were affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes and that the East Anatolian Fault and the Çardak Fault continue to generate earthquakes, saying the following:

“Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, and Adıyaman are on the East Anatolian Fault, which is the source of the largest earthquakes. Furthermore, districts of Kahramanmaraş are on the Çardak Fault, which produced the second-largest earthquake. On February 6, two major earthquakes occurred, one at 7.8 and the other at 7.6. These faults have broken. However, there are other faults around these that will not produce such large earthquakes but still have the potential to generate them. Unfortunately, these faults continue to break. Especially due to the stress transferred to the ends of the faults, earthquakes are occurring in Malatya, Sivas, Adıyaman, and Syria. These earthquakes will continue to occur. We may expect larger ones, but we cannot know when they will happen.”

Emphasizing that the Akçalıuşağı and Bozdoğanuşağı faults in Adana could produce earthquakes between magnitudes 5 and 6, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Pampal said, “In Adana, a magnitude 5 earthquake occurred in the Kozan district at the beginning of November. We came to Adana to check the latest situation. There are the Akçalıuşağı and Bozdoğanuşağı faults in Adana.

These faults are close to residential areas such as Kozan, Saimbeyli, and Feke. These faults are breaking. These are not faults that will produce earthquakes as destructive as the one on February 6, but they are faults capable of producing earthquakes between magnitudes 5 and 6,” he said.

"TURKEY COULD BE BURIED UNDER IT"

Speaking about the expected Istanbul earthquake, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Pampal explained that an earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher will occur, saying, “We are expecting an earthquake between 7 and 7.5. I hope for an earthquake around 7.2.

This is not something that will happen just because I hope for it, but when we look at the upper and lower limits, I wish it were closer to the lower limit. Considering Istanbul's building stock, the result could be very bad.

If Istanbul is destroyed, Turkey could be buried under it. We could all be buried under it.

Therefore, we must prepare all of Turkey for earthquakes without separating cities by saying Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana,” he stated.