The first tremor of the two major earthquakes, which had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, occurred on 6 February in the southeast of Turkey, consisted of three different shocks and lasted for 80 seconds, Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute announced on Saturday.
As the death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey rose to 40,689 on Sunday, the modelling study of the seismic waves of the earthquake revealed that the first tremor occurred with multiple refractions at 4:17 local time. However, this finding does not alter the magnitude of the earthquake which caused great damage with at least 100,000 collapsed or severely damaged buildings.
“Scientific studies in recent years have revealed that major earthquakes that occur all over the world occur with multiple refractions,” said the Observatory.
The epicentres of the two major earthquakes that caused destruction and loss of life in 11 provinces in southeast Turkey and northwest Syria were respectively the Şehitkamil district of southeastern Gaziantep province and Ekinözü district of southern Kahramanmaraş, said the Observatory’s director, Professor Dr Haluk Özener, on Thursday.
The epicentres of the earthquakes had previously been stated by Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to be the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirms the findings of the Kandilli Observatory.
Differences in the magnitudes and epicentres of earthquakes occur due to the measurement techniques and localisation of measuring instruments and are commonplace.
