International

During the first seven months of this year, more than 26,000 earthquakes were registered in Turkey, indicating the highest seismic activity the country has experienced in the past 15 years, according to the Hurriyet Daily News, citing data from the Office for Disaster Management and Emergency Management (AFAD).

Last year, Turkey registered 20,143 earthquakes, while from January 1 to August 16 this year it was 26,290.

Most often, tremors occur in the western part of the country. Especially they intensified in the area of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, where an average of about five earthquakes of varying capacity per day are recorded.

This year, there were 135 earthquakes with magnitude from 4.0 to 5.0, 13 – from magnitude 5.0 to 6.0 and two – from 6.0 to 7.0.

About 18,678 earthquakes were of magnitude to 2.0, the magnitude of another 6,469 earthquakes ranged from 2.0 to 3.0 and 993 from 3.0 to 4.0.

According to the forecasts of AFAD experts, within the next 30 years the Istanbul region will be “shaken” by an earthquake with a magnitude higher than 7.0.