We may have left behind us the longest and coldest night of the last century in our country. We have many long nights ahead of us. The wreckage of this earthquake will linger for a while. With search and rescue teams from both our country and around the world, local people try to save the people who were under the rubble. But we know this isn’t the first time. As with other earthquakes, this The earthquake did not come as a surprise to our country either. We are in an earthquake zone and we need to build our buildings with this awareness.

Although it is very popular in our country to invest in concrete, Our contractors don’t care much about the quality of concrete. When we do this, we encounter disasters on a larger scale than we may have ever seen before. Let us remind you again that unstable structures kill, not earthquakes. Now that we know that the real culprit is not the earthquake, let’s see why there are so many earthquakes in our country.

The main reason why Turkey is an earthquake zone is that the Anatolian Plate is constantly being pushed by the Arabian and African Plates.

The Anatolian Plate is an area that is constantly being compressed and causing earthquakes. subducted under the Anatolian Plate along the Hellenic-Cyprus arc. The African Plate produces earthquakes in Eastern Anatolia, NAF (North Anatolian Fault), EAF (East Anatolian Fault), and Western Anatolia (Aegean Sea). Another large plate pushing the Anatolian Plate is the Arabian Plate. The Arabian Plate is constantly pushing the Anatolian Plate westward.

The Arabian Plate pushing the Anatolian Plate across the East Anatolian Fault is the main reason why our country is in an earthquake zone. The areas where the African-Arabian Plate collides with another large plate, Eurasia, are the parts of Europe. From the Alps to the Himalayas It forms an earthquake belt in a very large area. In the Anatolian Plate, which is located between these two major tectonic plates, severe earthquakes are experienced.

Earth scientist Prof. Dr. Celal Şengör explained the reasons for these earthquakes, which had devastating effects in 10 provinces, as follows:

Editor’s note: If we know everything, why don’t we take precautions?

The information that Turkey is in an earthquake zone is not new information that we have obtained. There were earthquakes here long before we came to these geographies. Although we know very well the geopolitical position of the places where we will settle, human life takes second place when it comes to money. contractors and directors who cannot provide adequate control They are seen as the main culprits behind the loss of so many lives in the earthquake we are currently experiencing.

As with everything else, we believe that together we will put this period behind us. What about the people who have/will take the lives of so many people? Will they be punished? I think time will tell. Today Kahramanmaraş, tomorrow Kütahya, tomorrow Istanbul… We have to learn to live with earthquakes. Our hope is that everyone currently under the rubble will be disposed of in a healthy way. Let’s not forget that we can only get through this process together.

• Sources: Prof. Naci Gorurwiki wall, Douwe van Hinsbergen