Around 200 injured in yesterday's tremors in Istanbul, experts: Another major earthquake is expected

After the strong earthquake that hit Istanbul, scientists believe that more aftershocks could follow. “There are currently two scenarios: either the immediate area where the earthquake occurred is relaxed for now and the seismic situation is slowly calming down, or the redistribution of the seismic stress created by the earthquake will increase the possibility of a larger earthquake in the region,” said Marco Bohnhoff, a researcher at the Helmholtz Centre for Geodesy (GFZ).

"We are following and observing seismic developments in the region very closely," he explained.

Region with particular risk
The current earthquake was the strongest in more than 25 years in this region. According to the GFZ, the first earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2, and was at a depth of about ten kilometers, about 60 kilometers west of Istanbul in the Sea of ​​Marmara. Just 13 minutes later the ground shook again, this time with a magnitude of 5.3 at a distance of about 40 kilometers. The tremors were also felt in Greece and Bulgaria.

According to scientists, the second earthquake shows that the stresses have shifted. This makes further tremors more likely. According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, more than 120 seismic aftershocks were recorded.

Two tectonic plates meet near Istanbul
According to experts, the region around the Sea of ​​Marmara near the city of Istanbul, with about a million inhabitants, has one of the most dangerous geological structures in the world: two tectonic plates meet there - the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian plate.

The area under the Sea of ​​Marmara south of Istanbul is the only sector of the tectonic plate boundary that has not generated a major earthquake in more than 250 years. Experts have long assumed that Istanbul will be shaken sooner or later by an earthquake with a magnitude of about 7./DW

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