MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. The earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks was a unique event due to its ‘colossal magnitude’ and will be scrutinized by seismologists for quite a while, a reputed Russian scientist said.
"The events that are taking place in Turkey at the moment are unprecedented. The earthquake is unique because of its colossal magnitude of 7.8. Such seismic events are rare for the entire globe, and it was one of the most powerful earthquakes. I’m monitoring the events online, and more than 300 aftershocks have already been registered in over 36 hours within the same area, the zone of Anatolian Faults," said the director of the Institute of Seismology and Geodynamics of the Crimean Federal University, Yuri Volfman.
"The situation was made worse by the fact that it was a shallow earthquake, [with the epicenter] located at the depth of just 10 kilometers in a densely populated zone," he continued. "Such a lengthy period of an active seismic process is a unique occurrence that will require a lengthy study."
In his words, the system of Anatolian Faults is separating the Eurasian Plate from the Arabian Plate. At present, the latter is pressing the former, and a tectonic shift is under way.
Speaking about possible future developments in the region, Volfman said they will be hard to predict.
"[The lengthy period of aftershocks] is a unique occurrence, so I don’t know when it may be over. However, such events may occur again, maybe of a different scope and in different areas, but we need to be ready for that," he said.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 hit the Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Turkey on Monday. The tremors, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in ten provinces, as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. Latest casualty reports say that almost 5,900 people had been killed and almost 35,000 injured.