Turkish veteran seismologist warns of major quake in East Anatolian Fault

Duvar English

Turkish veteran seismologist Prof. Naci Görür has warned of the possibility of an earthquake with a magnitude above 7.0 in the East Anatolian Fault.

Görür made the comments during a program on NTV and said that the Feb. 6 major earthquakes overcompressed the region and pressure has accumulated.

“Tunceli is surrounded by faults on four sides. The last earthquake on the North Anatolian Fault between Erzincan and Bingöl-Karlıova was in 1784. The Yedisu Fault produces earthquakes every 250 years. The recurrence period of the fault has expired, and the Feb. 6 earthquakes may have transferred stress to the end sections of these faults. The stress transfer may have brought forward the earthquake that may occur on these faults. That is why we are worried,” Görür said.

The veteran seismologist added that the Arabian Plate was squeezing Anatolia. “The Feb. 6 quakes were such big ones that the Arabian Plate moved seven meters to the North and destroyed that Bitlis-Zagros belt. We can expect earthquakes in every province from Adıyaman to Hakkari. Our people should not die, necessary preparations should be made.”

Two deadly earthquakes struck Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaraş province on Feb. 6, one at a magnitude of 7.7 and the other at 7.6. More than 50,000 people died according to the official figures in 11 provinces.