Nature is an awe-inspiring force, capable of devastating destruction.
From powerful volcanoes spewing molten lava to massive tsunamis that swallow entire coastlines,
the raw power of Mother Nature is something to behold.
Even the most destructive storms, like hurricanes, can wreak havoc on everything in their path.
But amidst all these incredible displays, there's one force that trumps them all: earthquakes.
In just a matter of seconds, the ground beneath our feet can shake and sway with a ferocity
that leaves even the mightiest disasters in the dust.
Recently, just several minutes of intense Earthquakes resulted in the complete destruction
of entire cities, reducing them to piles of debris.
It was the strongest Earthquake to hit Turkey in about a century.
Even after several weeks, the full extent of the damage is still being estimated.
The disaster caused two large cracks on the surface of the Earth, where the ground separated
up to seven meters in opposite directions over a vast distance of hundreds of miles.
One of the cracks resulting from the magnitude 7.8 Earthquake extends for a distance of 300
kilometers [190 miles] from the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.
The second crack, measuring 125 kilometers [80 miles] in length, appeared during a somewhat
less powerful 7.5 magnitude Earthquake that occurred just a few hours later.
On top of that, following the Earthquakes, over 4,300 aftershocks have occurred in the
affected area, making the rescue operation even more challenging.
According to the disaster authority of Turkey, the number of fatalities in the country has
gone beyond 40,000, and it’s anticipated to increase even more as an estimated number
of 345,000 apartments have been destroyed, and there are still many individuals who remain
missing.
And Syria has reported more than 5,800 people perished.
In Turkey, close to 1 million people are currently residing in temporary shelters and tents,
while hospitals are treating at least 80,000 injured individuals.
And in Syria, up to 5 million people could be left without homes, with a large number
already displaced within the country due to the ongoing civil war.
So why were these Earthquakes so deadly, and are there more big earthquakes coming?
Could the next big one hit where you live?
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Imagine a giant jigsaw puzzle, but instead of cardboard pieces, it's made up of moving
tectonic plates that form the Earth's crust.
As these plates collide, slide past each other, or shift in other ways, they generate an enormous
amount of energy underground.
When the stored energy surpasses the strength of the surrounding rock, it is released in
the form of seismic waves that can cause devastating effects on the surface.
And for this built-up energy to get released, it can take years or even decades.
Some experts say, the energy released from the big Earthquake in Turkey has been accumulating
for the past 300-500 years.
When the energy was released by the two powerful earthquakes, it created two unusually long
fissures, visible on the surface of the Earth and running through towns and buildings.
This area north of Cyprus is known for powerful earthquakes due to the convergence of three
tectonic plates: the Anatolia, Arabia, and Africa.
The recent quakes were particularly ferocious, with an unprecedented fault length and two
large earthquakes happening within a few hours.
Experts noted that the shallow depth of the fault line, at only 18 kilometers [11 miles],
allowed the tremors to spread with devastating force over a wide area.
Interestingly, a Dutch researcher predicted a deadly quake just days before it happened.
The researcher made a tweet warning about the high probability of the earthquake in
that specific region on February 3: [“Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake
in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon)”].
Still, this wasn’t the most devastating and powerful tremor in recorded history.
This title goes to the Great Chilean Earthquake, also known as the Valdivia Earthquake, which
occurred on May 22, 1960, off the coast of Chile.
It had a magnitude of 9.5, making it the strongest ever recorded by seismographs.
The temblor caused massive destruction, including landslides, tsunamis, and fires, and it affected
an area of over 400,000 square kilometers [155,000 square miles].
The death toll was estimated to be around 5,000 people, and the economic damage was
immense.
Luckily, an Earthquake larger than a magnitude 10 is nearly impossible due to the physical
limitations of the Earth's crust.
It would require a fault hundreds or even thousands of kilometers long, and tens of
kilometers deep, to rupture all at once.
The energy released would be equivalent to several billion atomic bombs!
If such an Earthquake were to happen, it would have catastrophic consequences, including
widespread destruction, landslides, and volcanic eruptions, potentially causing a global environmental
crisis.
Besides, the force of the Earthquake could lead to permanent alterations to the Earth's
landscape, such as creating new mountains or shifting the tectonic plates, triggering
a chain of more Earthquakes and natural disasters.
But what if there were some external factors in play?
Recent findings indicate that the impact of the massive 10-kilometer [6-mile] wide asteroid
that struck Earth 66 million years ago, which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, resulted
in a long-lasting earthquake that persisted for several weeks or even months, and had
seismic energy 50,000 times greater than the 2004 Sumatra earthquake [magnitude: 9.1-9.3].
The tremor triggered by the asteroid impact had magnitudes exceeding 11 on the seismic
scale.
Aside from that, the asteroid produced an extremely powerful global tsunami.
According to one study, the tsunami caused by the impact had an energy level that was
as much as 30,000 times stronger than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which was one of
the most significant ever recorded in modern history.
Computer models show that the Chicxulub tsunami generated waves of over 10 meters [33 feet]
high and flow velocities over 1 meter per second when they approached most coastlines
in the North Atlantic and South Pacific.
According to scientists, the Earth’s crust wouldn’t be able to withstand the power
of a hypothetical earthquake of magnitude 15.
It would disintegrate the entire planet, leaving behind only debris and dust drifting in space.
While the earthquake triggered by the impact of the 10-kilometer wide asteroid was a significant
event, one can only imagine the unfathomable destruction that a larger asteroid could cause.
Another scary, but much more realistic thing is the opening of the fault, which, up until
recently, was believed to be impossible.
This limitation has even been built into computer simulations.
But recent research has shown that Earthquakes can make the earth split open and close back
up.
Imagine the ground twisting and rotating as the plates collide, causing a gap that quickly
snaps shut again!
Scientists have found that when a thrust fault ruptures rapidly, and moves towards the Earth's
surface, it can cause one side of the fault to rotate away from the other side creating
a gap of a few meters.
This gap then quickly closes, and the amount of movement depends on the amount of stress
that has built up along the fault that can range from a few millimeters to several meters!
This is what researchers believe happened in case of the magnitude-9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake.
They think it caused one slab of rock to briefly twist away from the other as it propagated
up the fault.
This momentary twist then caused the fault to slip over 50 meters [160 feet] as the two
slabs of rock snapped shut again.
Earthquakes are a global phenomenon, occurring on every continent from the highest peaks
of the Himalayan Mountains to the lowest valleys of the Dead Sea, as well as in the frigid
regions of Antarctica.
Despite their occurrence in various locations, the distribution of Earthquakes doesn’t
appear to be completely random.
So is there a chance another tremor like the one which happened in Turkey could hit where
you live?
The Ring of Fire, also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a region surrounding the Pacific
Ocean where several tectonic plates meet, and the interactions between these plates
cause a high frequency of Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
This area is home to about 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes, and 90% of the
world's Earthquakes, including some of the most powerful tremors ever recorded.
Recent reporting has highlighted the threat of potentially catastrophic earthquakes in
multiple regions along the Ring of Fire, including the Pacific Northwest, Japan, and New Zealand.
While experts can estimate the rough average time between these events, which varies from
region to region, the exact timing and magnitude of these large earthquakes remain unpredictable.
The potential impacts of these natural disasters are devastating, as we have seen in the past.
But that’s not the only place on Earth where massive earthquakes can strike.
California has been due for a huge monster quake for a long time now.
It's very likely that there’s a lot of stress building up on the San Andreas fault line.
The massive San Andreas Fault extends 1,300 kilometers [800 miles] through California,
splitting the state from south to north.
It's formed by the movement of two tectonic plates that are slowly grinding against each
other.
In the southern and northern sections of the fault, the plates are often locked together,
generating enormous amounts of stress.
And since some parts of the fault haven't ruptured in over 200 years, eventually, the
accumulated stress should reach a critical point, leading to the release of this stored
energy in the form of violent earthquakes.
The San Andreas Fault already has a history of earthquakes originating near its surface
and extending along its path, including two of the most notable ones: the 1906 San Francisco
Bay earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.8, and the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, which
measured 6.9 on the Richter scale.
But scientists warn that this doesn’t mean the fault has released all of its stored stress,
and a major earthquake could occur at any time in the future, making it a significant
cause for concern.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the odds that some regions across the fault will
go through a 6.7 earthquake in the coming 30 years are quite high, although it could
be even stronger than that, up to 8.2 on the Richter Scale.
There's also the threat of a potentially catastrophic earthquake that could shake the Pacific Northwest,
unleashing what experts have dubbed as "the worst natural disaster in the history of North
America".
The quake's impact would be felt by over 7 million people across a vast region spanning
370,000 square kilometers [140,000 square miles].
Experts predict that the earthquake could register a magnitude between 8.7 and 9.2 - a
level of seismic intensity that could result in incredible damage and destruction.
With the rising threat of potentially catastrophic earthquakes, it's more important than ever
to learn about the science behind these earth-shattering events.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the fascinating science behind earthquakes and their potential
impact on our planet.
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