Turkey, Magnitude 7.8 Worst Earthquake in History
Largest Earthquake in 84 Years Since 1939
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, causing extensive damage in Turkey and neighboring Syria. The magnitude 7.8 is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Turkey, matching the intensity of the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, which resulted in approximately 30,000 deaths.
On the 6th (local time), a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey. At least 568 people have died so far in the two countries due to the earthquake that occurred in the region bordering Syria. The photo shows rescue workers carrying an injured person from a collapsed building in Adana, southern Turkey. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on the 6th (local time), the earthquake occurred at 4:17 a.m. that day, about 37 km inland west of Gaziantep in southern Turkey. The strong tremor lasted for about one minute, and 18 aftershocks of magnitude 4 or higher were observed.
Professor Januka Athanayake, an earthquake expert at the University of Melbourne, Australia, told the New York Times (NYT), "The energy released by this earthquake is approximately 32 petajoules (PJ, an international energy measurement unit), which is enough energy to supply New York City with power for more than four days." He added, "In terms of energy, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake is 708 times more powerful than a magnitude 5.9 earthquake."
Additionally, the NYT cited Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, who said, "(A magnitude 7.0 earthquake) releases energy equivalent to about 32 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima."
Earthquakes with magnitudes between 7.0 and 7.9 have the power to collapse large buildings. Previously, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 caused about 9,000 deaths. In 2016, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Ecuador, and a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit El Salvador, damaging hundreds of buildings and causing thousands of casualties at the time.
Meanwhile, Turkey is a country prone to frequent strong earthquakes because it lies on one of the most active fault zones in the world. Turkey is located at the intersection of the Anatolian Plate, the Eurasian Plate, the Arabian Plate, and the African Plate, resulting in continuous seismic activity. In the past 25 years alone, there have been seven earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher.
In particular, this earthquake is analyzed to have the same intensity as the worst earthquake in Turkey's history recorded 84 years ago. According to the USGS, the earthquake that occurred on December 27, 1939, in Erzincan Province in northeastern Turkey caused about 30,000 deaths. The magnitude of that earthquake was also recorded as 7.8, the same as this recent earthquake.
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