Fault lines form where these plates interact, as they collide, pull apart or slide past each other. The earthquakes in Turkey occurred along the East and North Anatolian Fault Lines, which run 700 km and 1,500 km long, respectively. For earthquakes, they are places where fault lines change direction or have a little gap. “These known fault lines played a significant role, but the sheer magnitude of the quakes far exceeded expectations,” Dr. Jia said. Dr. Jia has studied many earthquakes, but he said he was still surprised by the ‘dialogue’ between the fault lines.

Source: The Hindu September 13, 2023 17:25 UTC