The tragedy in Turkey and Syria threatens to drag on for months and even years. This was anticipated by scientists who know the depths of the region where you were already born more than 9,500 people after the 7.8 earthquake (between “major” and “catastrophic” according to the description of the Richter scale) and its replica of 7.5.
Based on historical and statistical records, geologists say that there will be new aftershocks as the earth’s faults adjust to the last tremor. “It is a pity to confirm that these people will continue to feel shakes for a long time, after having been through such a traumatic experience”, he acknowledged before the magazine cabling seismology geologist Wendy Bohon.
Earthquakes are the product plate tectonics, large masses of rock that move independently in the Earth’s crust, but that come into contact along fault lines. When the force of those loads and stresses overcomes the friction that holds the rocks together, they end up breaking to cause the earthquake. The energy released in the form of waves, that what we feel as tremors.
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The main wave on Monday struck along about 200 kilometers of the East Anatolian Fault, coinciding with southern Turkey. In this case it would be a course offset fault, in which the rupture is generated by the pressure between two rock masses that move horizontally in opposite directions. Since it happened near the surface, the tremors were especially strong.
In the last 100 years, Turkey – where several tectonic plates converge – has recorded more than 50 strong earthquakes, capable of destroying an area of 150 kilometers in radius. The most serious occurred in 1939 in the province of Erzincan, with 32,000 of the 80,000 dead totals for the last century.
The greater the tremor, the greater the aftershocks tend to be, which tends to decrease in frequency and severity over time. But since the Anatolian Fault is a place of frequent aftershocks, on a system where the crust is very worn, that period could be prolonged. The situation is especially delicate in northern Syria, where there was already a major humanitarian crisis. In this scenario, the international community will have the responsibility of reinforcing preparation measures so that the transit through this tragedy is as bearable as possible.
FM
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