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Turkey Earthquake: Where did it hit and why was it so deadly?

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and scores more injured by a huge earthquake
which struck south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, in the early hours of Monday
morning.
The earthquake, which hit near the town of Gaziantep, was closely followed by numerous
aftershocks - including one quake which was almost as large as the first.

The first earthquake was big - it registered as 7.8, classified as "major" on the official magnitude
scale. It broke along about 100km (62 miles) of fault line, causing serious damage to buildings near
the fault.

This incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, when people were inside and sleeping.
The sturdiness of the buildings is also a factor.

Dr Carmen Solana, reader in volcanology and risk communication at the University of Portsmouth,
says: "The resistant infrastructure is unfortunately patchy in South Turkey and especially Syria, so
saving lives now mostly relies on response. The next 24 hours are crucial to find survivors. After 48
hours the number of survivors decreases enormously.“

This was a region where there had not been a major earthquake for more than 200 years or any
warning signs, so the level of preparedness would be less than for a region which was more used to
dealing with tremors.

The Earth's crust is made up of separate bits, called plates, that nestle alongside each other.
These plates often try to move but are prevented by the friction of rubbing up against an adjoining
one. But sometimes the pressure builds until one plate suddenly jerks across, causing the surface to
move.
In this case it was the Arabian plate moving northwards and grinding against the Anatolian plate.
1. Where was the first earthquake?
Answer the questions in full
sentences…
2. What was the magnitude of the first earthquake?

3. Give two reasons why the incident was so deadly.

4. Why was there a low level of preparedness?

5. Which two plates were involved in the earthquake?

Find out 5 key facts about the response to the earthquake…