Earthquake in Turkey: It is not from the fault that we expect a big earthquake in Istanbul, say Turkish seismologists

The rift that caused him 5.1 magnitude earthquakewhich occurred at 9:42 a.m. Greek time (10:42 a.m. local) in the Gulf of Kios (Gemlik) region, in the southeastern part of the Sea of ​​Marmara, is not the same as the one that seismologists expect to produce a large earthquake in Istanbul.

Seismology professor Naci Gyorur, known in Turkey for his constant warnings of an expected major earthquake, said: “The earthquake most likely originates from the part of the Zegtinbagi fault in the Gulf of Kios (Gemlik). This fault is part of the southern branch of the North Anatolian fault. The southern branch is a slow-moving but accreted fault zone. In the 1999 earthquakes I guess it lost its energy. We are now waiting for the earthquake in the northern branch. I don’t see a problem at the moment, but measures should be taken in Gemlik.”

The director of the Istanbul Observatory Haluk Ozener stated in a press conference that “so far there have been 40 earthquakes. The largest aftershock is 3.8 on the Richter scale. Nine of the aftershocks are over 3 on the Richter scale”. He clarified that there are two branches of the fault in Marmaras. This area is an active fault in the Marmaras to the south. According to records, large earthquakes have occurred in this area in the past as well. “We are expecting an earthquake in Marmaras, but this should not mean that every earthquake in Marmaras is this earthquake. About nine earthquakes occur in Marmaras every year,” he said.

There is another fault zone that passes through Gemlik (Chios), south of Lake Nicaea. “Earthquakes here can be big,” Seismologist Sukru Ersoi told CNN Turk and added that at the moment there are no signs that this earthquake is a harbinger of a bigger one to come.