Is this the beginning of The End?

Where did it hit and why was it so deadly?

Turkey has experienced a lot of Earthquake but this one left a drastic scar on their community which may take some time to repair.

Recently, powerful tremors were felt in Turkey after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck along a well-known fault line called the Anatolia tectonic block.

The earthquakes emerged from relatively shallow depths and were a “strike-slip quake”.

It is being described as the strongest Earthquake that Turkey has experienced in over a century and the worst disaster since 1939. The 1939 earthquake was the Erzincan Earthquake that had caused “extreme damage in the Erzincan Plain and the Kelkit River Valley.

Why was it so deadly?

The first earthquake was big - it registered as 7.8, classified as "major" on the official magnitude scale. It broke along about 100km (62 miles) of fault line, causing serious damage to buildings near the fault.

Prof Joanna Faure Walker, head of the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London, said: "Of the deadliest earthquakes in any given year, only two in the last 10 years have been of equivalent magnitude, and four in the previous 10 years."

But it is not only the power of the tremor that causes devastation.

This incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, when people were inside and sleeping.

The sturdiness of the buildings is also a factor.

Dr Carmen Solana, reader in volcanology and risk communication at the University of Portsmouth, says: "The resistant infrastructure is unfortunately patchy in South Turkey and especially Syria, so saving lives now mostly relies on response. The next 24 hours are crucial to find survivors. After 48 hours the number of survivors decreases enormously."

This was a region where there had not been a major earthquake for more than 200 years or any warning signs, so the level of preparedness would be less than for a region which was more used to dealing with tremors.

Death toll from earthquakes goes past 37,000. Turkish authorities say 31,974 people have been killed in the country, while more than 5,800 people are dead in Syria, according to the UN and the Syrian government.

The WHO describes the earthquakes in Turkey as the worst natural disaster in a century in what it characterizes as its Europe region.

What caused the earthquake?

The Earth's crust is made up of separate bits, called plates, that nestle alongside each other.

Friction from the plates has been responsible for very damaging earthquakes in the past.

On 13 August 1822 it caused an earthquake registering 7.4 in magnitude, significantly less than the 7.8 magnitude recorded on Monday.

Even so, the 19th Century earthquake resulted in immense damage to towns in the area, with 7,000 deaths recorded in the city of Aleppo alone. Damaging aftershocks continued for nearly a year.

There have already been several aftershocks following the current earthquake and scientists are expecting it to follow the same trend as the previous big one in the region.

These plates often try to move but are prevented by the friction of rubbing up against an adjoining one. But sometimes the pressure builds until one plate suddenly jerks across, causing the surface to move.

In this case it was the Arabian plate moving northwards and grinding against the Anatolian plate.

Do Shallow Earthquake cause greater Damage?

A shallow earthquake is an earthquake that occurs at a shallow depth, usually within the Earth's crust, near the surface. They typically have a depth of less than 70 km and can result in strong ground shaking and surface faulting.

They are often more damaging than deep earthquakes because the energy from the seismic waves is released closer to the surface, leading to stronger ground motion and more intense shaking.

This can cause damage to buildings and infrastructure, as well as triggers landslides, rockfalls, and other secondary hazards.

However, the amount of damage caused by an earthquake depends on a number of factors, including the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance from the epicenter, the depth of the earthquake, the type of soil and geological conditions at the surface.

Who is next?

A Dutch researcher allegedly predicts seismic activity anticipating a large size earthquake originating in Afghanistan, through Pakistan and India. However, Twitter users flagged the post stating that there is no scientific basis for earthquake predictions.

Moreover, the post warns people in the Indian subcontinent that the region may be next.

“Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets who anticipated the quake in Turkey and Syria three days ago had also predicted seismic activity anticipating a large size earthquake originating in Afghanistan, through Pakistan and India eventually terminating into the Indian Ocean,” a viral post says, adding a clip of researcher allegedly explaining the danger.

Some major earthquake-prone countries are:

Japan , Indonesia , Iran , Turkey , Nepal, Mexico , Chile, Peru, Philippines, United States (especially California)

If you would like to donate money to help the poor people of Turkey-Syria who got affected, click this link below (This is not my personal link)

https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal

More videos related to this clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGJiofb4TOg