Although Turkey is far from the Pacific “ring of fire” that generates most of the world's strongest earthquakes, its neighbourhood is unusually seismically active.
The majority of Earth's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes take place along the Ring of Fire. The next most seismically active region (5-6% of earthquakes) is the Alpide belt (extends from Mediterranean region, eastward through Turkey, Iran, and northern India.
Turkey sits on a hotbed of seismic activity known as the Albide Belt — the second most active region on Earth after the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Alpide Belt spans over 15,000 km, roughly following the boundary of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.
What makes Turkey even more vulnerable is the movement from the Anatolian plate is essentially slipping along the fault lines of the North Anatolian fault zone, the most seismically active fault zone in the world, Stewart said.
What type of earthquake was this? Researchers said the earthquake was a strike-slip quake, where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.
Turkey is one of the world's most active earthquake zones because it is located in an area where three tectonic plates interact. A variety of factors, both human and natural, are likely to blame for the casualties and damage caused by the two earthquakes.
The collapse of an estimated 6,400 buildings across Turkey and Syria due to earthquakes in the region was avoidable, according to structural engineers. The area was hit first by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake which was followed by a subsequent 7.5-magnitude quake and many aftershocks on Monday 6 February.
Turkey is a hotspot for earthquakes. It sits on two fault lines which are affected by the movement of three rock slabs known as tectonic plates: the African, Anatolian, and Arabian.
Terrorism. There's an ongoing high threat of terrorist attacks in Türkiye. Most terrorist attacks have taken place in the southeast of the country, Ankara or Istanbul. On 13 November 2022, an explosion in Istiklal caddesi, central Istanbul, killed 6 people and injured many more.
The earthquake hypocenter was at a depth of 10.0 km (6 mi) according to USGS and 5 km (3 mi) according to KOERI. The shock had a focal mechanism corresponding to strike-slip faulting. It is one of the strongest ever recorded in Turkey, equivalent in magnitude to the 1939 Erzincan earthquake (Mw 7.8).
“As tourism is one of Türkiye's major economic drivers, our goal is to educate travelers and consumers so they understand that Istanbul and other tourist destinations are safe to visit and many hours away from the earthquake's epicenter.
It's only a probability, but the probability is high.” With two key fault lines in its vicinity – the North Anatolian and the East Anatolian – Turkey is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. It's a geological reality that has amplified concern over Istanbul's earthquake preparedness.
Geographical Stretch of Ring of Fire
Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Antarctica are some of the important places located in the ring of the fire.
Part of Hall of Planet Earth. The Anatolian transform fault system is probably the most active in the world. It separates the Eurasian plate from the Anatolian plate in northern Turkey. Some of the most destructive earthquakes in history have been caused by movement along this fault.
Ararat, also known as Agri Dagi, is Turkey's highest and easternmost volcano, lying near the border with Armenia.
Seismologists consider Turkey a tectonically active area, where three tectonic plates—the Anatolia, Arabia, and Africa plates—touch and interact with each other.
As of May 2023, we can confidently state that Turkey is back to being a relatively safe destination once again. About 40 million tourists have visited the country in 2019 and besides the global pandemic there hasn't been any major incident concerning the safety of her foreign visitors.
Ordinary passport holders are required to have visa to enter Türkiye. Ordinary passport holders with a valid Schengen, USA, UK, Ireland visa or residence permit may get their one month single entry e-Visas via the website www.evisa.gov.tr.
Earthquakes. Many parts of Turkey are subject to earthquakes and tremors. A 7.8 earthquake hit Gaziantep and neighbouring provinces in the south-east of Turkey on 6 February 2023. There have been multiple strong after-shocks and parts of the region remain heavily damaged.
For which country do we locate the most earthquakes? Japan. The whole country is in a very active seismic area, and they have the densest seismic network in the world, so they are able to record many earthquakes.
There are various reasons, of which the first is the Turkish lira currency exchange rate. Therefore, foreign house buyers get good deals. Second, the areas with affordable housing have abundant land and properties for sale, and the ratio of interested buyers is lower. This is known as the supply and demand model.
Inflation, increasing construction costs and the imbalance between supply and demand are all playing major roles in the skyrocketing property price crisis, experts say. Middle East Eye reported in September 2021 that one tonne of cement cost 500 lira ($60).
Over the past year, the cost of land has risen 20%. Behind this is a simple fact of supply and demand: with every passing year, there are fewer and fewer places to build. The lack of land means developers are forced into paying top dollar for available plots, which pushes property prices ever higher.