Türkiye, particularly its big cities in the west, faces the constant risks of earthquakes because of several fault lines crisscrossing the country.
An unfortunate tectonic location and a traumatizing history of deadly earthquakes have inculcated the fear of tremors in Türkiye's everyday life. From a very young age, Turks are taught to tackle earthquakes and many take certain precautions beforehand such as preparing an emergency bag and establishing safety zones at home or work.
Last year, at least one earthquake with a magnitude over 4.0 took place every three days in Türkiye and its closest surrounding, read the report shared by Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday.
Associate professor Bülent Özmen from the Gazi University Earthquake Engineering Application and Research Center shared the statistics on the number of earthquakes that shook the country in 2022 and provided details explaining the earthquakes’ magnitude, occurrence time, location, depth, latitude, and longitude.
He also briefed about earthquakes that took place around the world, citing that in 2022, 15,438 earthquakes of magnitude 4 and above shook the planet.
Özmen told AA, "There were 117 earthquakes with magnitudes between 6 and 6.9, 1,603 earthquakes of magnitudes between 5 and 5.9, and 13,707 earthquakes with magnitudes between 4 and 4.9 that took place worldwide."
Recalling that the biggest earthquakes of 2022 struck Papua New Guinea on Sept. 10 and Mexico on Sept. 19, both with a magnitude of 7.6, Özmen said: "The earthquake that claimed most lives is the 6-magnitude earthquake that occurred on June 22 in Afghanistan."
At least 1,163 people died and over 6,000 others were injured throughout eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, making it the deadliest earthquake of 2022 and the deadliest in Afghanistan since 1998.
Meanwhile, Özmen also stated that earthquake activity in Türkiye was monitored day and night by 1,143 earthquake recording stations operating under the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Touching upon the examination and evaluation of the important earthquake activities across the country and in its immediate surroundings conducted by the AFAD in 2022, Özmen said that 20,277 earthquakes were recorded in Türkiye.
Of the earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye, 128 quakes were recorded with over 4 magnitudes, 113 of them were between 4 and 5, 14 of magnitude 5 and 6, and one earthquake was recorded with a magnitude between 6-7," he added.
The latest earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.9, in Düzce province on Nov. 23, 2022, frightened citizens and awoke memories of the 1999 earthquake that had hit the same province.
