The 6.2 earthquake in the Istanbul region on April 23 released approximately 12 percent of the accumulated seismic tension, according to a preliminary report on the quake prepared by the Disaster Management Research and Practice Center (MATAM) group, Turkish state television TRT Haber reported, quoted by BTA.
According to the report, the area where the earthquake occurred is located on the Kumburgaz fault segment, which last caused an earthquake in 1766. The 6.2 earthquake released 12 percent of the energy accumulated since then, calculations published in the report show.
MATAM Director Prof. Cenk Yaltarak said the entire Kumburgaz segment is 80 kilometers long, and the 6.2 quake caused movement of about 30 centimeters in only a small part of the fault.
"However, a stress of 3.7 meters has accumulated in the same area. This is not a harbinger of a major earthquake, but it is also wrong to say that the stress has been released. Most of the fault is still in place," he explained.
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake in the Sea of Marmara shook Istanbul and the wider region on April 23 and was also felt in Bulgaria. The quake caused no casualties or serious damage.