The earthquake, which causes fear and anxiety in the lives of everyone alive, unfortunately always happens in our lives and makes us nervous. will continue to do so. influence our lives in this way. natural disaster Let’s see how it came about.

An earthquake is a complex phenomenon caused by the displacement motion that occurs due to the sudden discharge of the deformation energy accumulated on the fractures called faults in the ground. elastic wave motions. it is called. What about the intensity and magnitude we use to understand the effect of the earthquake? Do you know that the concepts are constantly mixed up?

“The severity of the earthquake and the What is the difference between the terms “size”?

earthquake intensityThe effect of the earthquake on the place where the earthquake is felt is called. These effects; It can be against nature, structures or people.

The magnitude of the earthquake while It is defined as a measure of the energy released in an earthquake.

What are the effects of earthquakes that we constantly hear on our lives?

• 1.0- 3.0: An earthquake of this magnitude is almost never felt.
• 3.0-3.9: Those who live on the upper floors of buildings clearly feel it. Many people do not realize that a quake is an earthquake. Stationary vehicles shake slightly. Shake, passing a big truck reminiscent of shaking. The duration of the earthquake is estimated.
• 4.0- 4.9: During the day it is felt by almost everyone in the buildings; Most of those who are outside don’t feel the shaking much. some at night wakes up from sleep. Stationary vehicles vibrate visibly. Earthquakes of this magnitude can move items and damage weak buildings. Creaking sounds come from the wall.
• 5.0 – 5.9: Although slight damage is done to specially designed structures, poorly used buildings significant damage causes. Some chimneys collapse.
• 6.0-6.9: It causes great damage depending on the durability of medium and large buildings. Chimneys are knocked over, stacked materials are knocked over, walls and columns collapse. Heavy furniture falls over. Buildings slide off their foundations.
• 7.0 or taller: Some well-built wooden structures are destroyed, while most of the stone structures are destroyed with their foundations. After earthquakes of this magnitude, the chance of a tsunami is also quite high. The horizon line becomes a floating surface. The concept of horizon and horizontality disappears. Disintegration takes place on the mainland.

What was the largest earthquake in the world and in Turkey?

Earthquake in Chile in 1960

10 minutes on time and 9.5 This earthquake of magnitude It is one of the largest earthquakes. This earthquake broke a huge fault line of about 1600 kilometers.

This earthquake, which happened in 1960, did not only hit Valdivia. It even hit Hawaii, 700 km away. extendable to 25 meters tsunamis and the effect of the earthquake reached the transoceanic coasts.

The intensity of this earthquake, which caused an impact of 178 gigatons, 1000 atomic bombs It is thought to be equivalent to the terrifying violence it will cause. Property damage from this earthquake, which killed 6,000 people, was calculated to be more than $4 billion in today’s currency.

1939 Erzincan earthquake

The Erzincan earthquake, one of the first major disasters in the young Republic of Turkey, occurred on December 27, 1939 and 7.9 was big. Not only in our country, but in the world In this disaster, which was recorded as one of the largest earthquakes in the world, 33 thousand of our citizens were killed, 100,000 of our citizens were injured, more than 116,000 buildings were damaged and there was a great financial loss.

You can see other major earthquakes that happened in our country here:

Let’s go back to our original question: Can a devastating “mega-earthquake” of magnitude 10.0 and above happen?

an earthquake of 10.0 or higher “Mega Earthquake” The idea, while theoretically possible, is highly unlikely. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault at which it occurred. Good how long is the outage The earthquake is so big. A fault is a break in the rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, where rocks on opposite sides move past each other.

size 10.0 It is not known whether a fault will last long enough to cause an earthquake. If there were such a fault line, it would be an unavoidable fact that it would encircle much of the planet and, in the event of an earthquake, turn the whole world upside down.

• Sources: Kandilli Observatory, USGS