By: MICHELLE PARK
Staff Writer
On February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. The death toll has exceeded about 11,000 and thousands of buildings have collapsed. Why did the Turkey and Syria earthquakes cause so much damage?
Turkey is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Sandwiched between the Eurasian, African, and Arabian plates, Turkey is located in the Anatolian fault zone, the most active of the seismic zones, and 42% of the country belongs to the earthquake zone.
Buildings are also vulnerable to earthquakes. An analysis found that brick-structured buildings could be aggravated by earthquakes because they are adjacent to each other. This can increase earthquake damage from falling bricks and masonry. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), most people living in southern Turkey live on unreinforced brick and low-rise concrete framing structures, making them highly vulnerable to earthquakes.