Tag Archives: Turkey

More on the 7.2 Turkey Earthquake

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Understanding the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in East Turkey (October 23, 2011)

Last update: October 24, 2011 at 1:11 am by By 

Tectonic explanation of what happened

Turkey is a tectonically active country that experiences frequent destructive earthquakes. On a broad scale, the seismtectonics of the region near the October 23, 2011 earthquake are controlled by the collision of the Arabian Plate and Eurasian plates; at the latitude of this event, the Arabian plate converges with Eurasia in a northerly direction at a rate of approximately 24 mm/yr. West of the October 23, 2011, earthquake tectonics are dominated by strike-slip faulting on the East (in southern Turkey) and North (in northern Turkey) Anatolian fault zones. These large, translational fault systems extend across much of central and western Turkey and accommodate the western motion of the Anatolian block as it is beingsqueezed by the converging Arabian and Eurasian plates.

Shaking map October 23, 2011 Ercis – Van earthquake

In the area of Lake Van and further east, tectonics are dominated by the Bitlis Suture Zone (in eastern Turkey) and Zagros fold and thrust belt (toward Iran). The October 23, 2011 earthquake occurred in a broad region of convergence beyond the eastern extent of Anatolian strike-slip tectonics. The focal mechanism of today’s earthquake is consistent with oblique-thrust faulting similar to mapped faults in the region.

Seismic Hazard map courtesy USGS

This earthquake is a reminder of the many deadly seismic events that Turkey has suffered in the recent past. The devastating Izmit earthquake of 1999 (M = 7.6) broke a section of the North Anatolian Fault 1000 km to the west of the October 23 event and killed 17,000 people, injured 50,000, and left 500,000 homeless. Approximately 70 km from this earthquake a M7.3 earthquake occurred on November 11, 1976 destroying several villages near the Turkey and Iran border and killing several thousand people.
A M7.8 earthquake struck Erzincan in 1939, killing an estimated 33,000 people.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/10/24/understanding-the-7-2-magnitude-earthquake-in-east-turkey-october-23-2011/

Turkey —- Strong Earthquake

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Very strong damaging earthquake in eastern Turkey – 200 prisoners escaped in Van

Last update: October 23, 2011 at 7:18 pm by By 

Image courtesy www.haberler.com – click on the picture for the photo gallery

Update: There have been 104 aftershocks over M2.7 so far. 22 aftershocks over M4. 4 aftershocks over M5.

Important Update 19:07 UTC: 87 deaths and 1000 injuries is the estimate at the moment. (Ercis = 60, Van = 25, other localities = 2). This is expected to rise substantially.

Update
– Van Prison : 200 inmates escapedapparently grabbing the opportunity of earthquake.
– According to the news from Agencies, 38 provinces have send 1275 search and rescue personnel.
– Kandilli Observatory ELER says taking into account the number of buildings that become uninhabitable = 3200-3400, severely damaged buildings = 600 and completely collapsed buildings =  50; 500-700 deaths is the approximate estimate. News from rural locations has not been collected but damage is estimated at around 60-70 percent.

Update 18:58 UTC:  The Turkish government is sending skilled SAR  personnel (Search and rescue) from the other provinces to Van. The Van airport is till operational what facilitates transport to the earthquake zone. On top of that much equipment like ambulances, tents, medical personnel, etc. Turkey is well organized to deal with earthquakes.

Update 18:21 UTC:  – The weather outlook tonight is mixed. It is not raining or snowing but thetemperatures will be at freezing point. As people will prefer to stay in the open air (to scared to go inside for eventual very strong aftershocks), they may have a night with almost no sleep.
– As the night has fallen in Turkey (it is now 21:21 in Turkey) limited news facts are coming through.
– The death toll is unchanged since many hours at 85 but will certainly increase within the next 4 to 24 hours. A lot of people are still buried under the debris of the collapsed houses.
– We cannot reach the server from the local Ercis newspaper anymore
– NATO stands ready to assist Turkey  if needed

Update:  Doctors from Ercis State Hospital reported that the number of the injured patients is close to 1000. Many patients are kept in the hospital’s parking lot and the garden in tents.

Update:  The Armenian President sent an message of condolences to the President of the Republic of Turkey Abdullah Gül regarding the earthquake that occurred in the Van province. Armenia is located at a relatively short distance from the earthquake area and people in Armenia were very frightened by the shaking (see I have Felt It reports below).

Update: Germany has offered help to Turkey after an earthquake hit the eastern province of Van
The German Green Party called on the international community to provide fast and “unbureaucratic” support for rescue workers.

New casualty Update:   85 people are now reportedly killed during this earthquake (25 in Van and 60 in Ercis)

Update:   – A lot of people are leaving the cities and are heading for family in the rural areas. They fear the narrow streets with medium rise apartment buildings.
– Israel has offered to help Turkey with this disaster. It is unknown that Turkey has accepted this offer, as the 2 countries had a lot of differences in the recent past. In a later message Turkey declined the offered aid in saying that Turkey will deal with it internally.

for more information, videos, and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/10/23/very-strong-dangerous-earthquake-in-eastern-turkey/

Series of Earthquakes Rock Turkey

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Dangerous Shallow Earthquake in Turkey – 21 aftershocks

Last update: September 22, 2011 at 12:18 pm by By 

Update 12:18 UTC :Since the mainshock, the area has been hit by 21 aftershocks ranging from 2.6 to 4.0

Update : From the villages near the epicenter are reports of a lot of houses with cracks, but as far as we could see now, no collapsed houses and no injuries. Closest villages to the epicenter are : Balkaya, Giiuventepe, Ardicly, Distas, Karaca and Gulbahce. Only certainty from these villages may be conclusive to report a happy ending.

Update : The town of Refahiye would have experienced a VI strong shaking.

Update : according to the theoretical calculations of USGS, 2,000 people will have experienced a very strong shaking, 9,000 people a strong shaking, 290,000 people a moderate shaking and 6,731,000 people a light shaking

Update : The Turkish seismological agency reports a magnitude of 5.6

A major earthquake has occurred in Turkey. M5.5 and 4.5km depth. We are calling this earthquake extremely dangerous for the direct epicentral area. The town of Refahiye is in the direct epicentral area.

As yet, only a little news has come from the epicentral area. Yenigun talked to an AA correspondent, 7 kilometers from the epicenter of an earthquake in the south of the town of Refahiye Cengerli and stated that the village,”according to the first determinations does not have any loss of life or major damage”, he said.

This earthquake has occurred in the Erzincan area, which had a major earthquake in 1939 killing over 32,000 people.

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/22/dangerous-m5-5-shallow-earthquake-in-turkey/