A warning from an earthquake specialist for Rize and Trabzon

As eyes were turned to Istanbul due to the possible Marmara earthquake, Geological Engineer Prof. Dr. Osman Bektaş pointed out that the Black Sea fault, passing through the sea floor, carried an earthquake risk.

After the disasters that shook Turkey, the earthquake resistance of building stocks in cities has remained on the agenda.

After the Kahramanmaraş and Hatay-based earthquakes and the 2 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.4 and 3.6 in neighboring Georgia were felt on February 12, the possibility of an earthquake in Rize and Artvin, on the fault line passing through the sea floor was also raised in the Black Sea.

While all eyes were turned to Istanbul due to the expected possible Marmara earthquake, experts drew attention to the fact that the Black Sea fault carries an earthquake risk, as well.

ALL STRUCTURES IN TRABZON AND RIZE ARE UNDER EARTHQUAKE DANGER

Geological Engineer Prof. Dr. Osman Bektas, noted that the Black Sea fault had produced a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in Bartın in 1968, adding following:

* The earthquake danger of Trabzon and Rize is ignored by both the local government and the community. We are trying to do our best on this issue, but unfortunately we are also receiving some criticism on this issue.

*However, we are trying to explain the difference between the earthquake hazard maps published Dec 1996 and 2019.