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Earth shook violently in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning. The disaster claimed hundreds of lives. According to the US Geological Survey, the USGS, the strongest quake recorded was a magnitude 7.8. From a magnitude of about 4.5 to 5.5, minor, isolated damage to buildings is to be expected. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the East Anatolian fault zone.

Seismic energy is repeatedly discharged along both this 550-kilometer fault line and the North Anatolian fault zone, which is twice as long, shaking the country in the form of earthquake waves. In fact, Turkey is one of the most seismically active countries in Europe, along with Greece, Albania, Italy and Romania.

Sudden stress reduction leads to earthquakes

Much of Turkey lies on a small tectonic plate, the Anatolian Plate, which is sandwiched between two larger plates. To the north, the Anatolian Plate snakes along the Eurasian continental plate. To the southeast, the Arabian Plate pushes the Anatolian Plate northward.

Because the plates are in constant motion, stress builds up in the rock layers on either side of the fault. When it is large enough, it discharges in a sudden, jerky movement. When this happens cannot be determined, which is why earthquakes cannot be predicted even after centuries of research.

In the past, devastating earthquakes have repeatedly occurred along the eastern Anatolian fault lines. For example, an earthquake has been documented that happened nearly a thousand years ago: On November 29, 1114, an earthquake destroyed the ancient city of Maras in southeastern Turkey. Several thousand people would have fallen victim to the natural disaster. Strong earthquakes have also hit the region in recent years, including in 1998, 2010 and 2020 – none as deadly as Monday morning’s.