prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztürk: Dead faults sound like ‘we are not completely dead’

After the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, while the eyes were turned to the possible Marmara earthquake, the experts warned that dead faults should also be considered. Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Geological Engineering Department Head Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztürk explained that ten million years ago, there were breaks in the dead faults that continued their existence. Öztürk stated that dead faults run underground waters and cause collapses. Experts emphasized that studies should be carried out by taking into account the dead faults. On the other hand, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztürk transferred the Beykoz-Sarıyer fault and Tuzla fault, which are dead faults in Istanbul, to the geological map.

«THE FAULTS THAT FEAR US, THE FAULTS THAT WE CALLED ALIVE»

prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztürk, listing the dead faults of Istanbul, said, «The faults that frighten us are the faults that we call live faults. These are faults that have been operating for the last ten thousand years. Well, weren’t there other faults ten thousand years ago? Or was there not one ten million years ago in Istanbul? Was it without faults? No. There were always faults in Istanbul. Most of them have already died. They stopped their movement, they became silent. Other faults entered here because when the region is under different stresses, other faults develop. Other faults are formed. I meant this, I said. Istanbul One of the major faults that form the linearity of Istanbul and shape Istanbul is the fault that starts from Tuzla and continues to the Golden Horn. This fault draws the coast straight. It enters and continues into the Golden Horn. This is a northwest-southeast-trending fault. «A parallel fault of this fault is one that grows from Beykoz to Tuzla. It also has parallels. It is one of the faults that died in Marmara. Here are the faults in the Thrace basin, known as the Babaeski Fault,» he said.

«WE WORKED BY ALSO TAKING DEAD FAULTS INTO ACCOUNT»

prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztürk stated that there are small breaks in the dead faults and said, «These faults are dead, yes, they existed five, ten million years ago. But when stress comes from time to time, small breaks occur here. Therefore, these faults are important to us for several reasons. One of them is that these faults are seismic. Zones with weak motion. Underground water works, even if these fault zones die. Therefore, this activates the material below us, causing collapse. This fault is dead, but the water work there continues. Therefore, taking these faults into account, we will work on suitability for all settlements in Istanbul. Because those faults occasionally sound like ‘we are not completely dead.’ They give a sound with triplet, doublet and earthquakes. The earthquakes we call them, the earthquakes related to them,» he said.

«IF WE GO TO PLACE FAULTS IN ISTANBUL, WE CANNOT FIND A PLACE ON THE MAP»

Öztürk said, «Now, these old faults are the faults that form the depression of the Marmara Sea. These are the downfall faults. These are both collapsed by Uludağ from the south, the north collapsed and the Marmara Sea formed. But after a while these collapses stopped. Here are these five million to ten million years old. These faults, which started and lasted until the last three million years, were alive and shaped the region. Then they created earthquakes. It was the period when there was no man. We think of the entrance of the North Anatolian fault into the Marmara Sea as if it were four hundred thousand years ago. Now, this is a predatory, disaster-producing fault, this fault. These old faults were as follows: For example, the Tuzla fault. The fault passing through Tuzla. There are water outlets along this fault, right? There is water in İçmeler. There is medicinal water. There is carbonated water that is good for the stomach. This line continues. Haliç This is why we can see the seismic activity from time to time here. Our world is four and a half billion years old. Ever since the crust of our world solidified, the crust has been broken up to this day. The crust has been breaking since then. If we try to put faults, we cannot find a place on the map in Istanbul. . But we are here from time to time on old faults. They say we are too. So that’s what we see,» he said.

IT WAS FEELED IN KAĞITHANE

Finally, on February 5, at 03:15, an earthquake of 3.1 magnitude occurred in Istanbul Kağıthane. Those who felt the earthquake drew attention to a strong sound similar to the thunder they heard just before the earthquake in their social media posts. Similar magnitude earthquakes were recorded in Istanbul before.