20 February 2023
Aftershocks centred in Turkey’s Hatay province were shallow meaning they pose serious danger to those in the quake zone.Monday’s aftershock was centred in Turkey’s southernmost province of Hatay at a depth of 2km (1.2 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said three people were killed and more than 200 others injured.
The quake hit the city of Defne at 8:04pm (17:04 GMT) and was strongly felt in Hatay’s nearby capital of Antakya and in Adana, 200km (300 miles) to the north.
A second quake of magnitude 5.8 shook the region several minutes later, Turkey’s disaster management agency said. It was centred in Hatay’s Samandag district.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said the tremors were felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt....
The area where these earthquakes are occurring is unstable. There should be evacuation of the area if at all possible. The rescue crews are still finding people from the previous quakes. Hard to fathom considering these buildings pancaked in a matter of seconds and without any real warning.
Shallow earthquakes have less distance to travel to the surface. They maintain their energy level and cause a lot of surface movement.
The reason it was felt all the way to Jordan is because they life along the same fault line. Shallow quakes with all their energy at the surface aren't necessarily felt at greater distances, but, this makes sense that it did. Arabian Plate and Anatolian Plate are moving.
Physiography of the Anatolian Plateau and the surrounding region. NAF: North Anatolian fault, EAF: East Anatolian Fault.
DSF, Dead Sea Fault
The fault is sliding in opposite directions.
The shallow quakes dominate the history of the region.
This brings up the point so many are talking about in Turkey. The people have been pushing for quake proof dwellings for some time. This is a failure of the government to build the housing demanded by the Turkish public.
February 17, 2023
By Jason Beaubein and Claire Harbage
Samandag, Turkey — Yasin Pinarbasi (click here) usually works in an office in the Turkish capital Ankara. Now the civil engineer is clomping across unstable earthquake debris inside a four-story apartment building northeast of the city of Samandag.
From the outside the building appears to be in reasonably good condition, but once he enters there's a cinder block wall that has collapsed on the ground floor. Chunks of plaster and broken tile are strewn across the entryway.
"This building is highly damaged," Pinarbasi says. "It must be demolished."...
From the outside the building appears to be in reasonably good condition, but once he enters there's a cinder block wall that has collapsed on the ground floor. Chunks of plaster and broken tile are strewn across the entryway.
"This building is highly damaged," Pinarbasi says. "It must be demolished."...
Entire families are dead. Unfortunately they are unable to complain. Humanitarian aid is important for the refugees. The region is unstable. The idea of rebuilding soon is imprudent. Turkey is a large country and can absorb many of the refugees.
20 February 2023
Oliver Holmes, Elena Morresi and Finbarr SheehyDeath toll of 47,000 (click here) expected to rise and WHO says 26 million people need assistance across both countries....
The issue with Syria is bigger and the United Nations needs to assess the ability of the Alawite community to maintain their people in Syria. The Alawites aren't supportive of Assad. They never approved of all the killing. Assad is Alawite, but, he is not their favorite son. Russia did a lot of damage to Syria. The country is splintered and it rarely shows because it is an autocracy.
The Alawites of that region had a very viable economy. It won't survive under continued instability.
