Not one, but two earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria

The two earthquakes created ruptures of approximately 190 km and 120 km

On February 6, two major earthquakes hit the region between Turkey and Syria, says the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA); in updating the information you just made.

The first, at 01:17 UTC, with magnitude Mw7,8 [Mw-magnitude moment], occurred about 30 kilometers from Gaziantep (latitude 37,174°N and longitude 37,032°E), at a depth of 18 km.

This earthquake is located in the intersection region of two transform faults, the Dead Sea Fault, oriented north-south to northeast-southwest, and the East Anatolian Fault, oriented east-west.

The first separates the African and Eurasian Plates from Arabia (Asia) and the second establishes the southern boundary of the Anatolian Plate (Turkey).

These two faults intersect forming a triple point on the Earth's surface, in this case a TTT (transformant-transformant-transformant) triple point.

 

 

About 9 hours later, at 10:24 UTC, a second earthquake of magnitude Mw7,5 (latitude 38,024°N and longitude 37,203°E) occurred on the East Anatolian Fault, 4 km southeast of the town of Ekinözü, and about 90 km north of the first event, with a depth of 10 km.

«Given that the two faults are different, well-identified and very old tectonic structures, the second earthquake is not considered a simple replica of the first, but a new large earthquake probably resulting from the adjustment of forces resulting from the release of energy and deformation of the first» , explains the IPMA.

The Anatolian (Turkey) plate is a block of continental crust whose movement is westward, an expulsion resulting from the general north-south compression of the region.

Both earthquakes had a shutdown mechanism and according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the rupture length is approximately 190 km and 120 km, respectively.

The two earthquakes were felt with a maximum intensity of IX (USGS), which represents a vibration level classified as violent with very significant potential damage.

 

 

The Mw7,8 earthquake generated a small tsunami that was registered in the tide gauges of Iskenderun and Erdemli, in Turkey, with a maximum amplitude of the wave of 17 cm.
A tsunami warning was issued for the entire Mediterranean Basin, which ended two hours after the arrival time of the waves.

The number of aftershocks with magnitude above Mw6 was three and all occurred on February 6th.

To date, 753 events of lesser magnitude have been recorded, of which 57 were recorded by the IPMA seismic network.

According to the EMSC-CSEM catalog, there were 31 earthquakes with magnitudes in the interval [5.0, 5.9].

According to the media, at least 8,574 deaths were reported in Turkey, and 2,530 in Syria.

 

 



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