A tsunami is a rare event for Turkey, a country accustomed to major earthquakes. But the risk is there, warn the experts and completely natural for a landlocked country surrounded by seas. Waves as high as 3 meters (9 feet) are predicted in Case of a tsunami, associated professor Says Dogan Kalafat. Kalafat runs an earthquake and tsunami monitoring center at Kandilli Observatory and the Earthquake Research Institute of Boğaziçi University, a leading research body in earthquake-prone country.
The tsunami phenomenon first found widespread awareness in Turkey after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. As these two disasters have demonstrated, tsunamis appear to be more common in oceans, but this is not always the case, as Turkey itself has witnessed in 2020 in the Turkish Aegean province of Izmir. The disaster, the deadliest in recent memory for the province and Turkey, had triggered a tsunami off the side of Seferihisar district, son epicenter. Although Seferihisar was spared of death, a small tsunami washed away the city, forcing people run away in panic and tear up anything near the coast.
A tsunami monitoring center was established following the Indian Ocean earthquake and about five years after a major earthquake hit northwestern Turkey, including parts of Istanbul where the center is. Istanbul is still prone to hazards similar to the 1999 earthquake which killed hundreds in Avcılar, a neighborhood on son European side, sandwiched between the Sea of Marmara and Lake Küçükçekmece. Some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the district, an early tsunami warning and the monitoring station was established last year in Büyükçekmece, a district where a tsunami is probable in the future.
Kalafat said their current work concentrates on eastern Mediterranean by observing seismic stations and underwater stations measuring water levels. He added than the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey is at higher risk. “The southwest coast, of (the Greek island of) The coasts of Crete in Muğla (province), Gökova, Fethiye and Antalya are exposed to risk of 3 meter tsunami.
“What we have in the Mediterranean region is the arc of Crete, a area where an African tectonic plate is merging with the Aegean-Anatolia plate. Major earthquakes occur at the edges of such plates. Crete and (other Greek islands) suffered from tsunamis in the past”, he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday. In Marmara, experts anticipate a big tsunami after an earthquake of magnitude of 7.0 or higher. The probability of such a large earthquake is high, in the next decades. Kalafat said the water level at sea could rise by 2 meters and even that would be “enough to inflict damage”, he warned.
He added that Turkey had warning systems that can issue alerts up seven minutes before a tsunami. “It’s a significant period of time that can help people to evacuate to safe areas,” he said. Although he urges caution, he notes that a tsunami in Turkey would not be as devastating as those in oceans.
“Corn people should know this in Case of an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater and with an epicenter below the sea, a tsunami risk exist. So that they should heed the warnings and head for higher ground,” he said.
