The Turkey-Syria quake was the latest in a handful of big earthquakes that have taken place in the East Anatolian fault zone since 1998.īefore 1998, there had not been a major event caused by the fault zone since the 19th century. This is a phenomenon separate from aftershocks, which are smaller quakes around the epicentre of the main quake that take place in subsequent weeks.
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With the East Anatolian fault zone - where the Anatolian Plate and the Arabian Plate - and the adjacent North Anatolian fault zone - where the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate meet - ruptures may happen every few decades to every few hundred years and spark a series of quakes over several years.Ī woman walks among destroyed buildings in Hatay, Turkey. Turkey is very seismically active because it is at the meeting point of several tectonic plates: the Anatolian Plate, the Eurasian Plate, the Arabian Plate and the African Plate. What is the situation in and around Turkey? Oklahoma experienced several earthquakes in 2016 with a magnitude greater than five as a result of fluid injection. This process may increase the pressure at faults and result in earthquakes. In a typical year, about 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of seven are expected and only one with a magnitude of eight or more.Īs well as natural seismological events, human activity may also cause earthquakes.įor example, wastewater generated from oil production is sometimes injected deep underground so that it does not contaminate drinking water. The National Earthquake Information Centre, part of the USGS, records about 20,000 earthquakes annually worldwide, or an average of about 55 per day. The build-up of stress when tectonic plates become stuck against one another can lead to a sudden slip, releasing large amounts of energy that results in shaking. What causes earthquakes and how often do they happen?Īccording to the United States Geological Survey, most earthquakes happen around the meeting points of tectonic plates, the large pieces of the Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle - the layer directly below the crust.Īt these meeting points, there are cracks or fractures known as geological faults. Reports of deaths and damage after such events, transmitted at rapid speed across the globe, can lead to the perception that earthquakes are becoming more common.īut is this actually the case? Here we look at the causes of earthquakes and consider whether there has really been an increase in their frequency.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake was followed by an aftershock that registered 7.5 on the Richter scale, and there were thousands of smaller tremors in the following weeks. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in the area. The more violent ones that happened on February 6 in Turkey and Syria claimed more than 50,000 lives and caused widespread destruction. The first earthquake, pegged by the EMSC at a magnitude 6.1 was followed by another 5.8 magnitude quake just hours later. Two earthquakes measuring nearly magnitude 6 struck Kepulauan Batu, Indonesia, in the morning hours on Sunday, said the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
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