TURKIYE — The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Turkiye and Syria on Monday (6/2/2023) in the early morning has killed the lives of 12 thousand people as of Thursday (9/2/2023).
It is known that the epicenter was in the southern area with a depth of 11 km which then triggered a small tsunami with a height of 30 cm in Erdemli, Turkiye. The source of the earthquake was a generator of a powerful earthquake on the Turkish mainland.
Through his statement on laman resmi ITB (the official ITB website), the Dean of the Faculty of Earth Science and Technology (FITB) Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Dr. Irwan Meilano, S.T., M.Sc. said that the Turkiye and Syria Earthquake events were the most feared earthquake phenomenon by seismologists.
“The Turkiye earthquake is one of the most feared earthquake phenomena (will) occur by earthquake experts,” said Irwan Meilano.
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Furthermore, Dr. Irwan Meilano explained why the Turkiye Earthquake was destructive. There are four reasons behind it. Firstly, it is caused by the Turkiye Earthquake which has a magnitude of 7.8 which belongs to the scale of a large earthquake. Secondly, it is caused by the epicenter of the Turkiye Earthquake being close to the ground level, which is as far as 18 kilometers.
Thirdly, due to the presence of 6.7-magnitude aftershocks 11 minutes after the first earthquake occurred, and 7.5-magnitude aftershocks several after the hour of the first major earthquake. Fourthly, because the Turkiye Earthquake occurred in an environment where the structure of the building was not good.
Dr. Irwan Meilano also said that the earthquake that occurred in Turkiye on Monday (6/2/2023) early that morning was the most devastating earthquake that had ever occurred in Turkiye, in the last 90 years. The last major earthquake of the same magnitude occurred in Turkiye in December 1939.
“The Turkiye earthquake is now the largest earthquake in Turkiye, after the previous devastating earthquake in December 1939 that had a magnitude of 7.8 in northeastern Turkey, near the North Anatolia Fault line,” said the ITB seismologist,
Meanwhile, the Head of the Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Dr. Daryono, S.Si., M.Si. through the Instagram page @daryonoBMKG explained that the earthquake that occurred in Turkiye originated from the East Anatolia Fault zone which is an active fault zone and is accompanied by tectonic dynamics of the Arabian and Anatolian Plates. The East Anatolia fault itself is located at the junction of three plates, namely the Anatolian Plate, the Arabian Plate, and the African Plate.
This earthquake occurred due to the Arabian Plate pressing on the Anatolian Plate towards the Northwest which then accumulated the tension of the earth’s skin, so eventually releasing large-magnitude energy which resulted in a devastating earthquake. Daryono then analyzed the things that caused the Turkiye Earthquake which was very destructive.
According to Daryono, the cause is divided into five points, the first is because the earthquake has a large power, which is up to 7.8 Magnitude. Secondly, the source of the Turkiye Earthquake comes from a shallow crust. Third, there were three large-magnitude aftershocks that occurred in a row, they were 7.8 M, 6.7 M, and 7.5 M.
Fourth, due to the earthquake occurring early in the morning, when most of the residents were still sleeping, this inevitably made residents unaware that there was an earthquake. Fifth, the epicenter of the Turkiye Earthquake was surrounded by four large, densely populated cities, namely Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Pazarcik, and Nurdagi.
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It is known that the Turkiye Earthquake caused the main fault between the Anatolian and Arabian plates along 225 km to break and shift 3 meters. This fault slips due to strike-slip faults or due to the horizontal movement of the two plates.
The latest report from Al-Jazeera, as of Thursday (9/2/2023) there have been at least 12,391 deaths reported in Turkiye. Meanwhile, 2,992 people were reported to have died as a result of this devastating earthquake in Syria. The death toll is likely to continue to rise as the evacuation process progresses. (Dompet Dhuafa/Ronna)
