Ünlü Yerbilimci Türkiye'deki Depremin Ardından Kıbrıs Hakkında Gelen Sorulara Cevap Verdi!

As an earthquake scientist, I am used to people misunderstanding what I say; it’s my responsibility to do better.

But the idea that a gov’t might misuse my words to push a misleading narrative is new & dismaying.

The earthquake was inevitable. The scale of the disaster was not. https://t.co/dkzsbKUyOJ

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 12, 2023

After the Feb 6 earthquakes in Turkey, and the aftershock yesterday, a lot of people are asking: "What about Cyprus?"

I don't have answers, but I have some thoughts.

1/

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 21, 2023

But Cyprus is still pretty far away. And besides - the fault system changes. On this map, you can see little teeth on the fault south of Cyprus - it represents a convergent fault (thrust fault) rather than the strike-slip we've seen so far.

6/ pic.twitter.com/aR6Vvv6dLm

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 21, 2023

So the plate boundary not only has a different kind of slip than the quakes we've seen so far, but it's a different kind of fault altogether.

Yes, they are linked, but that's a big change, and it may be hard to activate faults across the boundary.

8/

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 21, 2023

Of course, Cyprus is a seismically active zone. There was a M6.6 to its west just last year!https://t.co/9UZXMYxtid

10/

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 21, 2023

So in conclusion: in my opinion, the earthquakes in Turkey do not significantly increase seismic risk in Cyprus. However residents of Cyprus should be aware of their risk of earthquakes & triggered hazards (tsunami, landslides), and take appropriate measures to prepare.

12/end

— Dr. Judith Hubbard (@JudithGeology) February 21, 2023