Geologist, sedimentology, and marine geology expert and member of the Academy of Sciences Prof. Dr. Naci Görür noted that since there is a supra subduction situation in the southern belt of Cyprus, large earthquakes of 7 and above may hit Cyprus. He also added that with the continuation of this line towards the Hellenic arc, which is the south and west, there were profound earthquakes in the historical periods.
Speaking as a guest on Serkan Tetiks’ program on Radio Vatan, Prof. Dr. Görür emphasized the importance of being prepared for earthquakes and constantly checking the durability of the urban infrastructure, and warned about the precautions to be taken. Noting that Cyprus is in the first-degree earthquake zone, Görür continued as follows:
“The Kahramanmaraş earthquakes caused a significant increase in the fault line in Türkiye towards Cyprus. Therefore, I think that these earthquakes may cause a certain amount of interaction in Cyprus. Depending on this movement of the Anatolian plate, we think that earthquake activity may also occur in the Adana basin. The Adana basin extends to Cyprus, so an earthquake that may occur in Adana may affect the northern parts of Cyprus to a certain extent. While the Kahramanmaraş earthquake triggers some faults in the Adana basin, the earthquake that will occur in that basin will affect the north of Cyprus. A second reason is that there is a supra-subduction situation in the south of Cyprus. We call it the Hellenic Cyprus bow tie-based earthquake. The Cyprus arc passes through the south of Cyprus and comes to the bottom of Cyprus. This means that the two earthquakes with a magnitude of over 7 in Kahramanmaraş now also caused a certain interaction in this subra-subduction situation. In other words, Cyprus is on the advancing plate, so a possible earthquake in a possible supra subduction situation may affect Cyprus.”
Responding to a question about how and when these interactions might affect Cyprus, Görür noted that he did not know when a possible earthquake would occur, or whether it would happen soon by looking at the plate movements and the seas, but due to these 2 major earthquakes, he said that he did not know how the emergency management would be in Cyprus. He said that it would be beneficial for the units to be on alert. “But still, we do not know if there will be a disaster in Cyprus or if there is a threat here,” said Görür.
Görür continued his words as follows: “As in Türkiye, Cyprus is an island that can produce earthquakes, especially because of the supra subduction in the south and because it is in the south of the Adana basin. The working mechanism of these earthquakes has existed for millions of years and will continue for another million years. We cannot stop the earthquakes in Cyprus, the recurrence of earthquakes may occur at large intervals, but we must work to reduce earthquake damage. The way to reduce earthquake damage should be to create earthquake-related training in Cyprus, that is, to make residential areas earthquake resistant. The public should be aware, and should be trained, and informed about what to do before and after an earthquake takes place.”
Emphasizing that the city’s infrastructure should be verified for earthquake resistance, prepared for major earthquakes and at the same time, attention should be paid to stock fuel, Görür said, “Earthquake management cabinets should be organized. The environment should also be protected in such a way that it will not be destroyed in an earthquake, and attention should also be given to the ecosystem. At the same time, we must make the economy of Cyprus earthquake resistant. The wheels of the economy must not stop. We should not stop and wait for an earthquake to take place, we should make these preparations before a possible earthquake comes, we should become resistant to earthquakes so that we can survive the earthquake with minimum damage.” Görür said.
