More than 15,000 earthquakes have hit the Turkish city of Sundargah in the Balıkesir district in the last three months, disaster management expert and lecturer at Gazi University in Ankara Bulent Özmen said, quoted by TRT Haber, BTA reported.
According to Özmen, the number of earthquakes that hit Sundargah during this period is equivalent to 60 percent of the average level for the country - about 25,000 earthquakes per year. The expert also notes that as a result of the numerous earthquakes, which science defines as an "earthquake storm", and especially the two "twin" earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale on August 10 and October 27 this year. underground cracks with a total length of over 30 kilometers have appeared in the affected area.
The two strong earthquakes, which were felt in most districts in western Turkey, caused the collapse of dozens of buildings and injured many citizens in the Sundergö region, and in the strong earthquake in August, two people lost their lives.
According to Özmen, aftershocks in the Sundergö region will continue in the coming months, and according to him, the strongest earthquake that could occur in the Simav fault, to which Sundergö also belongs, would be with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale.
The expert also noted that declaring the city a “disaster zone affecting all aspects of life“ is of utmost importance for the safety of the people who live there, as by introducing this measure, institutions have the opportunity to respond much more effectively to the occurrence of emergency situations.