Soil warning for Çanakkale from Prof. Dr. Naci Görür: I don't want to say anything negative, but...

Sharing that people in Anatolia, where he frequently travels, often ask him, "My son, when will these earthquakes end? God forbid," Görür said, "There is no need for prayer; if you could stop earthquakes with prayer, you would kill us too. Why? Because earthquakes are the heartbeats, the pulse of the world. If there were no earthquakes on Earth, the world would turn into a dead celestial body. We would all die. So don't get confused and pray, 'Oh God, stop these earthquakes.' The way for us not to die in earthquakes is through earthquake-resilient cities."

Stating that earthquake-resilient cities can be created in Turkey, Görür said, "We could not prepare Istanbul for an earthquake in 25 years. In all this time, we could have prepared the whole of Turkey for an earthquake. It is very clear. We have the engineers, the scientists, the organization, and the money for this. Do you know what we don't have? The will. We don't have the will. Just as we don't know how to do it, other things happen. We do not decide on something as a single body."

Prof. Dr. Görür explained what needs to be done to create earthquake-resilient cities across the country, drawing attention to the important duties that fall to local governments and governorships in cities in this regard.

Providing information about the fault systems threatening Çanakkale, Prof. Dr. Görür suggested that the city's provincial borders be divided into squares, and that at least 30-meter drillings be performed in the center of each square to take core samples and examine them in a laboratory.

Explaining Çanakkale's geological structure on a map, Görür continued his words as follows:

"There are mountainous, solid areas in the north and south. The place where Çanakkale is located is an area between two mountainous sections, consisting entirely of weak soil and alluvium, with plenty of water. Naturally, since the topography is suitable, all urbanization is in this region.

You have built your cities in front of the alluvial fans descending from the mountains. I don't want to say anything negative, but Çanakkale's soil is weak. Don't deceive yourselves. The solid parts of Çanakkale are the mountainous areas in its north and south."

Stating that Çanakkale is surrounded by both branches of the North Anatolian Fault, Görür said, "Both are active. The southern branch is a slower branch that has been accumulating energy for a long time. We are already expecting an earthquake on the North Anatolian Fault in the Marmara Region. You are sitting in the middle of these two branches, and on weak soil at that. Each of these faults can produce an earthquake of magnitude 7 or higher."

"IT COULD DISTURB ANATOLIA"

Responding to questions from members of the press before the program regarding the earthquake swarm continuing in the Aegean Sea, Görür stated that the reason for the earthquake swarm is the subduction of the African plate under the Anatolian-Aegean plate, the stretching of the Anatolian plate above, and the emergence of lava onto the seabed, adding, "If this evolves a lot, if it really develops, it could disturb Anatolia. But I don't think that's the case. Such earthquake swarms have happened; they continue for a certain period and then stop. I think that's what will happen. But if it causes very large earthquakes, it would cause the collapse of weak buildings on our coasts and tsunamis. Otherwise, I don't think there will be much of a problem."

Drawing attention to the fact that the dust cloud that would form in the event of a volcanic eruption can even block sunlight in the atmosphere and is harmful to human health due to its chemical properties, Görür stated that as a result of the research conducted, no signs of a volcanic eruption have been observed, and that this is a speculative statement.

Prof. Dr. Görür also touched upon the recent receding of sea water, saying, "There is no connection between earthquakes and sea receding. Sea receding happens during an earthquake when a tsunami is coming. Today's sea receding is entirely due to climatological reasons. In some places, atmospheric events cause seas to recede and rise. This has nothing to do with tectonic movements."

The program was attended by Çanakkale Governor Ömer Toraman, Çanakkale Mayor Muharrem Erkek, Gallipoli Historical Site President İsmail Kaşdemir, Çanakkale Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Selçuk Semizoğlu, business people, institution directors, academics, students, and citizens.