On August 10th, in the western part of Türkiye, near the city of Sındırgı, Balıkesir Province, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 occurred. The epicenter of the quake was located at a depth of approximately seven miles, and the tremors were felt across several provinces, including the country’s largest city, Istanbul.
As of August 12th, after the main shock, seven hundred eighty-six aftershocks had been recorded, seventeen of which exceeded a magnitude of 4.0.
The destruction was significant: when a three-story building collapsed, six people were trapped under the rubble, and unfortunately, one of them died. In total, the earthquake caused sixteen buildings to collapse, twelve of which were non-residential, and sixty-one sustained minor damage.
Two more people were injured when they entered a mosque building damaged by the earthquake; the upper decorative part of the mihrab collapsed on them, and one later died in the hospital. Following the seismic event, fifty-two people sought medical assistance, and residents who were afraid to return home spent the night outdoors.
Not long ago, earthquakes with a magnitude of five would make global headlines, but today such events occur almost daily around the planet and are no longer perceived as extraordinary — sometimes they are not even reported. This clearly illustrates how, largely unnoticed by most people, seismic activity on Earth has increased.
Scientists from the international research group ALLATRA have identified the causes of the planet’s geodynamic activation, provided forecasts for the increasing frequency of earthquakes in the coming years, and, most importantly, proposed concrete technological solutions to stabilize the situation.