The Impact of Seismic Activity for one Tectonic Plate on Another Plate (The Syrian city: Jableh, an Example)
Abstract
Hazar Shtat
The Gaziantep and KahramanmaraÅ? earthquakes, which occurred at the southwestern edge of the Anatolian Plate (Panda Plate), were a major shock and surprise to the Syrian city of Jableh, located on the northeastern side of the African Plate. Although the city lies on a different tectonic plate and is approximately 250 kilometers away from the epicenters of the two earthquakes, the damage in Jableh exceeded that in cities closer to the epicenters, such as Latakia and the Cypriot Arc. In this article, we attempt to provide a kinematic understanding of the impact of large earthquakes on points of contact between two different plates.
Overall, both earthquakes had severe consequences along the shock wavelength [1]. The first occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time on February 6, 2023, with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located west of the city of Gaziantep. Its impact extended to Syria due to its epicenter's proximity to the Syrian- Turkish border (this earthquake is considered one of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Turkey and Syria). The second occurred nine hours later, at 1:24 p.m. local time, with a magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale, near the city of Marash. According to preliminary estimates, the death toll from these two earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 50,000 and over 125,000 injured, causing extensive material damage in both countries. According to the latest official statistics, the death toll in Turkey and Syria from the earthquake has exceeded 59,000, after Turkey announced a higher death toll on its territory.
Adding the latest announced figure in Syria, which is 6,000 dead, brings the total death toll in both countries to over 59,000 (there is disagreement over the exact number, and in all cases, the figure has ranged between 50,000 and 59,000)