Monday’s major earthquake and major aftershocks hit Turkey, adding that more than 70 earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater have been recorded in the region since 1900. Turkey’s two major fault zones – the East Anatolian and the North Anatolian – make it one of the most seismically active zones. Active regions of the world.
Intensity of major earthquakes since 1900
Map showing the East Anatolian and North Anatolian fault zones in Turkey. The points are overlaid on a map showing the locations of major earthquakes in the region since 1900.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time and an unusually large 7.5-magnitude aftershock nine hours later, both on the East Anatolian Fault Zone. But several of the deadliest earthquakes have occurred along the northern Anatolian fault zones, including a 1999 one 60 miles from Istanbul that killed nearly 17,000 people.
These fault zones are the result of the movement of large parts of the Earth’s crust, or tectonic plates relative to each other. One zone consists of the Anatolian Plate, which covers most of Turkey. The East Anatolian Zone comprises the area where the movement of the Anatolian Plate is relative to the Arabian Plate to the southeast. The North Anatolian Zone is where the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate move northward.
Monday’s main quake was one of the most powerful on record in the region, matching the magnitude of a December 1939 quake that killed nearly 30,000 people in northeastern Turkey.
Deaths in major earthquakes since 1990
around Turkey and northern Syria. Circles are sized by the estimated number of deaths.
Chart showing death toll in earthquakes by year.
Volume
Turkey, 2023
February 6th at 5pm ET
