They talk about a very strong seismic event with catastrophic consequences due to the poor quality of buildings, without confidence in its development, but in any case not capable of affecting the territory of Greece. seismologists who spoke to “K” about yesterday earthquakes in Turkey.

One of the largest earthquakes in Turkey is spoken about Dr. Athanasios Ganas, Director of Research at the Geodynamic Institute and President of the Hellenic Geological Society. “A couple of earthquakes, and even such strong ones, is a global phenomenon. The Eastern Anatolian Fault forms where the Arabian Microplate meets the Eurasian Plate. This is a wider fault zone, with three branches and 11 parts. Three or even four parts were broken in yesterday’s work, we don’t have a good picture yet. The first major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred in Malatya – axis Gaziantep and the second happened in the afternoon, north of Elbistanwith an intensity of 7.6 Richter points”, Dr. Ganas explains “K”..

“Their size surprised us, as in our recent study following the January 2020 Elazig earthquake of 6.8 on the same fault, we calculated 7.4 on the Richter scale as the seismic rupture ceiling for the region. And this is taking into account the historical data of the 19th century, but without reliability. It turned out that we still don’t know much,” adds the president of the Hellenic Geological Society.

“The area and specifically this fault give very strong earthquakes – there are records from the end of the 19th century. In recent years, we have had several earthquakes with a magnitude of 6-6.5. Very strong earthquakes have been registered in Turkey. In Nicomedia in 1999, we had 7.5-7.6 on the Richter scale. The most destructive earthquake in the country occurred in 1939 in Erdzhikan with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale and killed more than 30,000 people. says “K” Professor AUTH Kostas Papazachos. “The phenomenon continues and we do not know how it will develop. A very large area is in very big unrest,” he adds.

The epicenter of the earthquake is located about 1000 km from our country.

Could there be an influence on the Greek area? “This is science fiction and exaggeration. The distance is very large,” Mr. Papazachos is categorical. “The epicenter of the earthquake is located about 1000 km from Greece. Well, my assessment is that there will be no consequences. Maybe some subtle jolts less than one on the Richter scale,” says Mr. Ganas.

Where monitoring is needed is in the Cyprus Arc, “a set of faults south of Cyprus, and also an area of ​​plate convergence that is fortunately offshore and less seismic than Greece,” notes Mr. Ganas.

“Although we do not have a relevant image of influence in the past, regarding the Cyprus arc, we must be wary of developments and be on the alert. It is possible that there will be earthquakes. It is located on the fault line that caused the earthquake,” emphasizes Mr. Papazachos for his part.

“The scale of the disaster highlights the particularly poor quality of construction in Turkey,” emphasizes Mr. Ganas. He also notes that “cities should not be built on fault lines. There must be a plan, you can’t build blindly.”