By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On Monday, February 20, new quakes struck the Hatay region with a 6.4 quake striking first while the second quake of 5.8 magnitude was centered in Samandag, an outlying area of Hatay province. TRT World reporting from Hatay said there has been a lot of panic with people trying to leave the area after the latest quakes. A seismologist Ziyadin Cakir from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul explained to TRT World that the reason for more quakes and aftershocks is a rupture and increased stress on the fault lines in that area. Cakir said: “This is kind of seismic crisis which started after the first two quakes.” He added that it’s normal to see a multitude of aftershocks in such a situation because the fault lines were activated by the quakes. Cakir further stated that the region of Malatya was “stressed quite a bit” by the quakes and that its region is at major risk for the next quake.
Meanwhile, Turkiye’s Vice-President Fuat Oktay in a live televised address on Monday reassured Turkish citizens that the government has everything under control after the two latest quakes and that people shouldn’t panic. He said that President Erdogan and a number of ministers were in the field assessing damages from Monday’s quakes. Oktay said there had been an earlier warning regarding a possible rise in water levels from Kandilli Laboratory but that he said the warning was lifted by Kandilli and by AFAD, the Turkish relief and disaster agency. Oktay urged people in the affected areas not to enter partially damaged buildings and said: “Please think of your families and the nation.” He added: “We are following the situation with our colleagues in Hatay and with ministers in the fields.” Oktay said there was “sufficient equipment and staff” to handle the situation. He urged citizens with any problems in that region to consult the nearest security personnel or AFAD personnel. The Turkish vice-president also said more information on the situation in the region will be updated as it comes in.QUAKE
