Mw7.0 Greek islands off the coast of western Turkey

[davenn]

Mw7.0 Greek islands off the coast of western Turkey

Still coming in on my seismo as I type this

http://www.sydneystormcity.com/seismograms.htm

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000c7y0/executive

 

[berkeman]

Yeah, looks bad. Only 10 miles deep, and lots of building collapses (and presumably injuries).

 

[berkeman]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/30/europe/earthquake-greece-turkey-aegean-intl/index.html

 

[Astronuc]

The magnitude 7.0 temblor occurred in an area of complex geologic movement, where multiple tectonic plates crack the surface as they jostle for position.

The tectonic complexity behind these events makes it even more challenging to understand hazards in the region, says Laura Gregory, an earthquake researcher at the University of Leeds in the U.K. "There isn't one big fault that we can focus on, but instead many faults located over a huge area, most of which could cause a devastating earthquake like today's," she tells National Geographic through direct messages on Twitter.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...quake-driven-by-wild-tectonics-of-aegean-sea/

 

[fresh_42]

Cars in Germany have to be technically checked every 2 years to make sure they can be operated within the intended limits. Turkey copied this system, to get rid of all the rubbish vehicles and therewith often deadly accidents they had until then. They even took the name.

Unfortunately, there is no such system for buildings. That means, many buildings have been built without permission, extended with additional floors, built in times when nobody knew how to construct buildings to withstand earthquakes, etc. The result is a significantly higher risk that buildings collapse in comparison to say, Japan. They finally reported 61 casualties, and I assume most if not all of them could have been avoided if there only were stricter controls of construction works.

What makes me wonder is that there are significantly more severe earthquakes in Turkey than there are in Greece, although the image in post #1 suggest, that they share the same socket. Here is a picture which illustrates the tectonic mess in the area:

 

[berkeman]

Unfortunately, there is no such system for buildings. That means, many buildings have been built without permission, extended with additional floors, built in times when nobody knew how to construct buildings to withstand earthquakes, etc. The result is a significantly higher risk that buildings collapse in comparison to say, Japan. They finally reported 61 casualties, and I assume most if not all of them could have been avoided if there only were stricter controls of construction works.

Yeah, here in California the earthquake construction codes are pretty strict and extensive. Many older buildings (especially buildings with public access) have been retrofitted to meet modern earthquake codes.

There is a nice story out of Turkey today -- a 2 year old girl was rescued after 91 hours laying in the rubble in her apartment. She lived because she happened to be next to a sturdy dishwasher that formed a small "life triangle" for her. Her dad was not home at the time of the quake, and her mom was home but did not survive.

In the disaster preparation and response training that I've been a part of, the question often comes up if people should dive for cover in "triangles of survival" (near the base of walls, etc.). But here where the earthquake codes are so strong, it's best to just get under a table or similar to protect yourself from falling objects. It's much less common for buildings to collapse when they are up to code.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/03/europe/turkey-izmir-girl-rescue-intl/index.html

 

[AndreasC]

I didn't feel the earthquake because I was driving. I was listening to radio, and suddenly the presenters stopped talking and after a while they said "it's still shaking, it's very long" and then I figured out what was going on.

 

[AndreasC]

What makes me wonder is that there are significantly more severe earthquakes in Turkey than there are in Greece,

Are there? I am not sure that is the case. This earthquake technically happened in Greece, and there have been many other earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 and above the last few years. The difference is that the places that are most active are densely populated in Turkey whereas in Greece they are small islands which are not as populous, and also because of the high growth rate due to tourism in these islands most of the structures are small (and low).

 

[fresh_42]

Are there? I am not sure that is the case. This earthquake technically happened in Greece, and there have been many other earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 and above the last few years. The difference is that the places that are most active are densely populated in Turkey whereas in Greece they are small islands which are not as populous, and also because of the high growth rate due to tourism in these islands most of the structures are small (and low).

Do you know how the two teenagers on Samos died?

 

[AndreasC]

Do you know how the two teenagers on Samos died?

Yes. They (and some other kids) were hanging out in a very narrow street, islands are full of them. Then the earthquake happened and an old wall started collapsing into the street. The other kids made it out, tragically two didn't. It really scares me to even think about it.