Frightening warning from Prof. Dr. Hasan Sözbilir: An earthquake storm could occur!

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of the Ayvacık district in Çanakkale. Following the earthquake, a warning came from Prof. Dr. Hasan Sözbilir, Director of the Dokuz Eylül University Earthquake Research and Application Center and faculty member of the Department of Geological Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering.

Recalling the 6.8-magnitude earthquake centered in the Gulf of Edremit on October 6, 1944, Sözbilir stated that 73 people lost their lives and more than 2,200 buildings were damaged in the earthquake, which lasted 20 seconds.

Sözbilir noted that the earthquake in question was felt at a magnitude of 9 and said the following:

"In that earthquake, a 35-kilometer-long surface rupture formed between Behram and Akçay along the northern boundary of the Gulf of Edremit. More recently, in February 2017, during the Çanakkale-Ayvacık earthquakes, numerous earthquakes occurred in the western part of the Tuzla Fault, with the main shock being 5.3 in magnitude, and an earthquake storm was experienced. Many village houses were damaged in that earthquake as well."

'AN EARTHQUAKE STORM COULD OCCUR'

In the continuation of his statements, Sözbilir noted the following:

"In this context, it can be considered a triggered earthquake. The Edremit and Behramkale faults are classified as fault segments belonging to the southern branch of the North Anatolian Fault. Since the slip rate of the Edremit Fault is low and its earthquake recurrence interval is long, there is no possibility of it producing a destructive earthquake in the near future. However, since the Gulf is located at the intersection point of the Edremit Fault, the Behramkale Fault, and the Tuzla Fault in this section, an earthquake storm, in which earthquakes smaller than 5.3 in magnitude are predominant, could occur."