A Turkish seismologist believes that there is a high probability of a magnitude 7-8 earthquake in the Aegean Sea along the fault line between the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes, BTA reported.
In front of the private television channel CNN-Turk, Professor Süleyman Pampal commented on the recent increased seismic activity in the western part of Turkey, where in the town of Sündergü, Balıkesir district, on August 10 and October 27 this year, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.1 occurred, as well as numerous weaker tremors.
„We are facing an abnormal situation in Balıkesir district, where we are experiencing a process known as an “earthquake storm”, in which over 15 thousand earthquakes occurred. Earthquakes of magnitude 4-5 and weaker are registered daily, we experienced earthquakes of magnitude 6.1 there twice”, the scientist emphasized.
According to Prof. Pampal, a similar situation was observed at the beginning of this year in the Aegean Sea, in the area of the Greek island of Santorini, where tens of thousands of earthquakes occurred.
The expert explained that the reason behind these “earthquake storms” are the systems of the Hellenic Arc and the Cyprus Arc along the Crete-Rhodes line, where the African Plate slides under the Anatolian Plate.
“To the north of this line is the tip of the African Plate. When this tip sinks deeper, it "It's getting closer to the magma," he said. "In 2011 and early this year (January, February and March) we experienced such a "earthquake storm" on a larger scale in the Aegean Sea. Now this movement has moved east. In the region, seismic activity associated with magmatic activity manifests itself in the form of an "earthquake storm," the scientist explained.
According to him, the situation with earthquakes associated with magmatic activity, which occur in the subduction zone where Africa in the south and Anatolia in the north collide, raises concerns about the possibility of a strong earthquake along the Crete-Rhodes line. Its magnitude could reach 7-8, the seismologist predicts.