Evaluating the earthquake that occurred in Konya, Earthquake and Tsunami Expert Prof. Dr. Şükrü Ersoy said, “The perception that there is no earthquake danger around Konya is wrong. There are faults that can cause earthquakes here.”

The 5.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Konya last night caused panic. Yıldız Technical University Faculty of Civil Engineering Dean Earthquake and Tsunami Specialist Prof. Dr. Şükrü Ersoy evaluated the earthquake.

There is a WRONG PERCEPTION ABOUT KONYA”

Ersoy said, “There is a wrong perception about Konya. The perception that there is no earthquake danger around Konya is wrong. There are faults that can cause earthquakes here. 

For example, there is the Konya fault and the Tuz Gölü fault. The lack of frequent earthquakes creates this perception, which is not true. 5.1 is one of the indications that this perception is wrong. Where 5.1 is, no fault has been found before. Sometimes the fault does not surface, it is under the ground, it is not possible to see it from the surface, it may still cause an earthquake. We call these faults ‘Blind Faults’,” he said.

“THE EARTHQUAKE IN KONYA MAY BE OF VOLCANIC ORIGIN” 

prof. Dr. Şükrü Ersoy said, “There is also the following possibility in Konya; Some of the earthquakes around Niğde and Konya are not tectonic, that is, not like classical earthquakes. It may be of volcanic origin. In other words, magmatic activities in the earth’s crust do not create very large earthquakes, but earthquakes up to magnitude 5 and 5.5 can occur. 

For example, earthquakes occur during the eruption of the volcano on La Palma Island in Spain. Of course, there are active volcanoes in Turkey that are silent for the time being. When it comes to Central Anatolia, we cannot pass by Hasan Mountain without mentioning Erciyes. There are important volcanoes in the South Aegean. These are currently inactive. Volcanoes in Southwest Anatolia can be triggered by earthquakes,” he said. 

“EVERY REGION IN TURKEY IS AN EARTHQUAKE REGION” 

prof. Dr. Ersoy said, “You may not see the magmatic activity clearly, but it does not mean that it is not in the earth’s crust. Earthquakes around Konya and Niğde may be of both volcanic and tectonic origin. It needs to be investigated a bit because a characteristic fault in the region of 5.1 earthquake is on the undrawn map. Earthquakes around Konya affect a lot, especially if the ground is bad. 

We saw this in Izmir. Modern buildings were destroyed in Izmir, moreover, this earthquake did not happen in Izmir, the earthquake took place on Samos Island, 70 kilometers away. We ignore this situation. Every region in Turkey is an earthquake zone. “An earthquake in the distance can come and destroy the buildings in the settlement,” he said. 

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