Earthquake alarm in the Eastern Black Sea region

Evaluating the consecutive earthquakes in Gümüşhane, Geological Engineer Prof. Dr. Osman Bektaş stated that the earthquake risk in the Eastern Black Sea region has increased.

Calling for precautions, Osman Bektaş said, "The danger is even greater, especially in coastal areas with beaches, sandy locations, or landslide-prone zones. Necessary precautions must be taken accordingly."

Regarding the earthquakes in Gümüşhane, Bektaş stated, "The earthquake risk in the Eastern Black Sea is now higher than it was yesterday. It is also a fact that for a place to be an earthquake zone, a fault line does not necessarily have to pass through it." Prof. Dr. Bektaş emphasized that the danger is particularly greater along the Black Sea coast and in landslide-prone areas.

Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ) former faculty member and geological engineer Prof. Dr. Osman Bektaş pointed out that the danger is greater in the Black Sea coastal and landslide-prone areas regarding the consecutive earthquakes in Gümüşhane. Bektaş drew attention to the precautions that need to be taken in beach regions, sandy areas, and landslide-prone zones.

Prof. Dr. Bektaş interpreted the earthquakes, which were also felt in surrounding provinces, with the following statements:

"These earthquakes occurring in the Kelkit region of Gümüşhane developed on a branch we call the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault. The North Anatolian Fault forms an east-west trending branch just east of Erzincan. This fault is also named as the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault. However, since no major or moderate earthquake has occurred on this fault for a long time, we currently view it as a region with the potential to produce moderate or major earthquakes in the future. What is interesting is that after the February 6 Maraş earthquakes, seismicity increased in the Erzincan and Erzurum regions in Northeast Anatolia. Especially around Aşkale, such micro-earthquakes, magnitude 4 and 3, began to develop. The seismicity in the east on February 6 has now migrated to the west. What happened? This time, as the seismicity that was in the east on the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault migrated to the west, the danger increased a bit more."

EARTHQUAKES OF MAGNITUDE 6 AND 7

Stating that the earthquake risk in the Eastern Black Sea has increased, Prof. Dr. Osman Bektaş expressed that there is a fault in the region that has not ruptured for a long time, and this situation increases the probability of a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake. Emphasizing that the danger is greater especially in coastal areas with beaches, sandy regions, and landslide-prone zones, Bektaş said that necessary precautions must be taken in these areas. He also stated that one should be prepared for a magnitude 6.6 earthquake on the Black Sea coast.

News Source: 12punto