Naci Görür pointed to that province: 'After the February 6 earthquakes, energy was transferred to the East Anatolian Fault'

Prof. Dr. Naci Görür provided important information regarding the changes that occurred in fault lines following the February 6 earthquakes during a program he attended. 

Istanbul Technical University faculty member and geoscientist Prof. Dr. Naci Görür stated that there are multiple earthquake sources in Hatay and emphasized the need to create earthquake-resistant cities.

Görür attended the "Seismicity of İskenderun and Earthquake-Resistant İskenderun" talk organized by the İskenderun Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the İskenderun Municipal Culture Palace.

Stating that there are multiple faults in Hatay that generate earthquakes, Görür noted that the city must be made earthquake-resistant and prepared.

"URBAN PLANNING MUST BE SHAPED ACCORDING TO FAULTS"

Expressing that it is possible to create earthquake-resistant cities with today's science and technology, Görür emphasized that micro-zoning, fault analysis, risk analysis, and risk reduction studies must be conducted to make the city earthquake-resistant.

Görür stated that in the February 6, 2023, earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, energy from the East Anatolian Fault was transferred to the vicinity of the Yumurtalık district of Adana and the Osmaniye Fault.

Pointing to the importance of using flexible materials instead of reinforced concrete in infrastructure projects, Görür underlined that urban planning must also be shaped according to the faults.

Stating that there are 4 plates within Turkey's geography, Görür said, "In our country, these faults have been generating earthquakes for 13.6 million years. We cannot stop earthquakes; that is not possible. Therefore, we must create earthquake-resistant settlement areas. If we do this, we will largely solve the earthquake problem."

Touching upon the fact that Hatay has witnessed major earthquakes throughout history, Görür continued as follows:

"This region is truly a very serious earthquake zone and a place where very serious earthquakes have occurred throughout history, because Antakya is within the plate boundary. In other words, the people of Antakya specifically entered the plate boundary and established Antakya there. The East Anatolian Fault is the boundary between the Arabian Plate and the Anatolian Plate.

This place is doomed to generate earthquakes. The Dead Sea Fault is also the boundary between the Arabian and African plates. This is also doomed to generate earthquakes.

Now, if we look at İskenderun, it receives the impact from both the East Anatolian Fault and the Dead Sea Fault. On February 6, a significant amount of stress was transferred from the East Anatolian Fault to the faults in the Yumurtalık and Osmaniye region. In other words, it may have brought forward the time for the Yumurtalık and Osmaniye faults to generate an earthquake."