Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?
STORY: Seismologists say Monday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria is probably going to be one of the deadliest this decade.
Only two others from 2013 to 2022 were of the same magnitude.
Compared to the 6.2 quake that hit Italy in 2016 and killed some 300 people - the Turkey Syria earthquake released 250 times as much energy - according to one expert.
So why was it so bad?
The epicentre of the quake was in the Turkish province of Gaziantep and at the relatively shallow depth of about 11 miles on the East Anatolian Fault.
It then radiated towards the northeast - bringing devastation to central Turkey and Syria.
The severity was due to the fact that the East Anatolian Fault is a strike-slip fault.
In those, solid rock plates are pushing up against each other across a vertical fault line, building stress until one slips in a horizontal motion - which releases a tremendous amount of strain.
That, in turn, can trigger an earthquake.
The San Andreas Fault in California is one of the world's most famous strike-slip faults.
In Monday's quake there was a more than 62 mile rupture between the Anatolian and Arabian plates.
Eleven minutes after the initial quake, the region was hit by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.
A 7.5-magnitude quake came hours later, followed by another spasm in the afternoon.
Experts say activity is spreading to neighboring faults - and seismicity may continue for a while.
Monday’s quake already has the highest death toll in Turkey since 1999.
That year, a tremor of similar magnitude struck a region near Istanbul and killed more than 17,000 people.
相關影片推薦
- 2:02歐洲最長「超級高鐵」測試軌道開通 34鋼管連結420公尺路線、時速可達700公里Yahoo奇摩(國際通)13,714 次觀看・10 小時前
- 1:23寶林食安風暴2死者解剖 死者家屬盼司法還公道民視影音5,241 次觀看・10 小時前
- 1:48美樂透「兆彩」連槓30次 頭獎361億元終開出 創紐澤西紀錄Yahoo奇摩(國際通)70,342 次觀看・12 小時前
- 0:45台北橋塞爆! 卡40分鐘 騎士控紅綠燈調配出包東森新聞影音68,393 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:31穿睡衣褲上班! 中國員工「噁心穿搭」風潮|#鏡新聞鏡新聞4,758 次觀看・1 天前
- 2:53寶林茶室負責人恐轉被告 欠債起底檢警疑內情不純華視影音139,332 次觀看・1 天前
- 0:59鋒面今晚抵達! 南部雨勢大 北部.宜蘭零星降雨華視影音10,226 次觀看・10 小時前
- 1:58墨西哥逾10萬人失蹤 家屬尋親發現「祕密墳場」驚現火化爐、無名墳Yahoo奇摩(國際通)21,019 次觀看・12 小時前
- 1:48奈奈加國困窘生活曝光 被害人:不可置信|#鏡新聞鏡新聞3,212 次觀看・1 天前
- 4:14一分鐘報天氣 / 週五 (03/29) 週四夜至週五鋒面快速掠過 僅北部及東部轉有短暫陣雨Yahoo奇摩新聞(報氣象)1,667 次觀看・6 小時前