'No big earthquake will come from here'

NEWS CENTER - Experts made evaluations after the 3.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Marmara Sea the day before. Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency announced that a 3.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Marmara at 22.08. The depth of the earthquake, which was announced to have occurred off the coast of Yalova, was 7.9 kilometers. The earthquake was felt in many points in Istanbul.

Creep emphasis

Geology Specialist Prof. Dr. Osman Bektaş: The shallowing of the aftershocks from Gölcük to Çınarcık indicates that the crust that produces earthquakes in Marmara is thinner; The progression and cessation of the rupture from Gölcük to Yalova may be due to the different fracture characteristics of the crust and the creep behavior of the fault. The result of the post-1999 aftershock map and the analysis of the last earthquake is that the M3.5 Yalova earthquake is an earthquake that supports the weak crust and creep fault characteristics of the Marmara Sea.

Prof. Dr. Şener Üşümezsoy: The reason why it is felt on the northern coast is because the direction of the fault is towards the north, so it is felt in that region. This does not constitute a major earthquake. It can cause earthquakes of magnitude 5 at most. As we see on this map, the plate boundary passes along the coast of the Armutlu Peninsula (i.e. Yalova, Çınarcık). This is the fault we call the North Anatolian Fault. The dashes or thin lines I showed above show the faults that have been speculated on, all of which have not existed since 1999. The place where this earthquake occurred is the extension of the North Anatolian Fault, which we call the plate boundary, extending straight from the Yalova Çınarcık coast, within the Marmara Sea. There is no fault going towards the Islands. The reason why it was felt in areas such as Kartal and Tuzla, especially the eastern part of the Anatolian coast of Istanbul, is the faults that coincide with the main fault in Yalova. Since there is a fault system where one group goes towards Tuzla and the other group extends towards the west towards Bakırköy, even if it was a magnitude 4 earthquake, it was felt on this coast because it was located in the section extending towards Tuzla, but people are extremely sensitive to every event because of the belief in their minds that 'There will be a big earthquake on the Islands fault'. However, there is no such fault.

'A local release of tension'

Prof. Dr. Övgün Ahmet Ercan: It is a local tension release. No problem. There is no reason for the concussion to cause concern.

Prof. Okan Tüysüz: It occurred within the Çınarcık Pit, there are many faults, it is likely a continuation of the fault that broke on August 17, not the Adalar Fault that we consider to be connected to Istanbul.

It shook again in the evening

Another earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 occurred off the coast of Yalova last night. According to AFAD data, an earthquake occurred at 18.14 in the Marmara Sea, near the center of Yalova. It was stated that the 2.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 7.16 kilometers underground.