10/26/2011

土耳其7.2級強震 / Powerful earthquake strikes Turkey

土耳其東南部與伊朗接壤的凡城省23日發生黎克特制7.2級強震，此次地震為土耳其12年來最強，震源深度僅10公里，屬淺層地震。土耳其位於歐亞板塊震帶，此地震帶近年地殼運動甚為活躍。地震發生於當地時間23日13時41分，震央位於塔班里村（Tabanli），靠近伊朗邊境。
美國地質調查局稱，地震震級為7.3級。當天晚些時候，土耳其方面將震級更正為7.2級。
除了與時間賽跑，營救受困人員外，當局目前最大的隱憂是，由於凡城位於土耳其第一大湖「凡湖」東岸，一旦大地震導致凡湖移位，大量湖水恐將灌入鄰近區域，使災情更加一發不可收拾。
土耳其位於歐亞板塊地震帶，是全球三大地震帶之一。地震主因是印度洋在印尼地區隱沒，印度半島向北與亞洲大陸發生碰撞，以及非洲大陸與歐亞大陸碰撞所造成。

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake had a magnitude of 7.3, then revised it down to 7.2.
Turkey is a tectonically active country that experiences frequent destructive earthquakes. On a broad scale, the seismtectonics of the region near the October 23, 2011 earthquake are controlled by the collision of the Arabian Plate and Eurasian plates; at the latitude of this event, the Arabian plate converges with Eurasia in a northerly direction at a rate of approximately 24 mm/yr. West of the October 23, 2011, earthquake tectonics are dominated by strike-slip faulting on the East (in southern Turkey) and North (in northern Turkey) Anatolian fault zones. These large, translational fault systems extend across much of central and western Turkey and accommodate the western motion of the Anatolian block as it is being squeezed by the converging Arabian and Eurasian plates.