{"id":548558,"date":"2023-02-06T22:08:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T19:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/"},"modified":"2023-02-06T22:08:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T19:08:10","slug":"heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/","title":{"rendered":"#Here&#8217;s why the earthquake in Turkey, Syria was so devastating"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a289f01c5a54\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a289f01c5a54\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/#Heres_why_the_earthquake_in_Turkey_Syria_was_so_devastating\" >Here&#8217;s why the earthquake in Turkey, Syria was so devastating<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/#What_causes_earthquakes\" >What causes earthquakes?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/#What_led_to_the_devastation\" >What led to the devastation?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/#Other_dangers\" >Other dangers<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Heres_why_the_earthquake_in_Turkey_Syria_was_so_devastating\"><\/span>Here&#8217;s why the earthquake in Turkey, Syria was so devastating<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p>More than 2,000 people died and thousands more were injured following a massive earthquake that hit Gaziantep, a town in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border early Monday morning.<\/p>\n<p>Additional aftershocks, including one almost as strong as the initial quake, made it an especially disastrous event.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Registering as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the Gaziantep event\u00a0is classified as a \u201cmajor\u201d earthquake and resulted in significant damage to the region.<\/p>\n<p>It broke out near a fault line, which is a region where tectonic plates meet.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, Jessica Turner, a geologist from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), said the region is at a three-way meeting between faults, called the\u00a0Anatolian fault zone area, where the African, Anatolian and Arabian plates come together,\u00a0which increases the risk for devastating earthquakes. It\u2019s also a densely populated area, which increases the danger of destruction and loss of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_causes_earthquakes\"><\/span><strong>What causes earthquakes?\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3845832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg 5472w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=1080,720 1080w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=645,430 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037594968684.jpg?resize=876,584 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The Earth\u2019s crust is made up of multiple segments called tectonic plates, which can move around.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes when they slide up against one another, pressure can build up from the friction. If the pressure builds up enough, it can cause a plate to jerk across its neighbor, producing an earthquake. In this particular case, the Arabian plate was rubbing against the Anatolian one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The most powerful earthquake on record was a 9.5, which struck Chile in 1960. In 2011, the Japanese coastline was affected by a 9.0, which resulted in a tsunami and damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011. But it\u2019s not that common to see quakes of such magnitude, as only two in the past 10 years have been that strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Power alone isn\u2019t enough to make an earthquake devastating; infrastructure also plays a role.<\/p>\n<p>This particular event h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened in the early hours of the morning, when people were sleeping and had no time to react. It also occurred in a region that has not experienced a natural disaster of this magnitude in more than 200 years, so the people and the buildings were not prepared.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_led_to_the_devastation\"><\/span><strong>What led to the devastation?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4846\" height=\"3231\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3845834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg 4846w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=1080,720 1080w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=645,430 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037520753896.jpg?resize=876,584 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p>While the initial earthquake caused a lot of damage and casualties, the ground hasn\u2019t stopped shaking, Turner told The Hill.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAftershocks right now are just continuing nonstop,\u201d Turner said. \u201cAnd with each aftershock that comes in, it\u2019s still going to shake these unstable structures to cause even more damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The aftershocks have been particularly powerful in this case, she added.<\/p>\n<p>Aftershocks are what happens as the earth disperses the force released in an earthquake. Turner compared them to ringing a bell, in which a long, diminishing resonance follows the first, powerful sound as the initial ring fades.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>This bell, however, has continued to ring unusually loudly, she said. Seismologists typically expect aftershocks to be about 10 times weaker than the original quake, which in this case would have been about a magnitude 6.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the aftershocks were a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale \u2014 nearly as powerful as the original quake.<\/p>\n<p>To make matters worse, these powerful aftershocks hit an area north of the main quake, causing the destructive force to hit already-damaged buildings from a different direction, worsening the damage. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a very large earthquake, so the aftershocks can go on for days, even possibly weeks,\u201d Turner added.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_dangers\"><\/span><strong>Other dangers<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"3999\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?w=900\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3845848\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=1080,720 1080w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=645,430 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/AP23037177295766.jpg?resize=876,583 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p>As medical crews race to rescue people buried under buildings in winter temperatures, other dangers loom \u2014 such as the feared prospect of liquefaction, in which seismic shaking causes solid ground to behave more like a liquid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just makes the ground really unstable,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She noted that liquefaction is one reason earthquakes in areas such as Mexico City, which is built on a dried-up lake bed, are so dangerous: \u201cIt\u2019s not actually liquid \u2014 but it acts like a liquid and things can sink a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>One other possible, if unlikely, menace lurks. USGS scientists are tracking the possibility that all these quakes could simply be the prelude into another, even more destructive main event.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u00a0can\u2019t predict that. I can\u2019t give you a number on how possible that is,\u201d Turner said. \u201cBut there\u2019s always that small possibility of all of these are \u2018forequakes\u2019 \u2014 and a much larger earthquake could occur.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/equilibrium-sustainability\/3845811-why-the-earthquake-in-turkey-syria-was-so-devastating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s why the earthquake in Turkey, Syria was so devastating More than 2,000 people died and thousands more were injured following a massive earthquake that hit Gaziantep, a town in southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border early Monday morning. Additional aftershocks, including one almost as strong as the initial quake, made it an especially disastrous&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":548559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/f9887561b02a4b9e8de175a5bffb673b.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134417,134418,134420,139513,73848,115,70289,134345,71577,139514,139515,4965,75393,139516,139517],"class_list":["post-548558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-congress-blog","tag-equilibrium-sustainability","tag-gaziantep","tag-natural-disasters","tag-news","tag-senate","tag-state-watch","tag-syria","tag-syria-earthquake-2023","tag-syria-refugees","tag-technology","tag-turkey","tag-turkey-earthquake","tag-turkey-earthquake-2023"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}