Earthquake-prone areas of Türkiye
After the earthquakes that occurred in the cities of Elazig and Manisa in 2020, the most searched topic by Turkish citizens was “Map of earthquake-prone areas of Türkiye”. They wanted to know whether the provinces and cities they live in are prone to earthquakes and whether fault lines pass through their residential areas. This led Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) to create a system and map to identify earthquake-prone areas in Turkey. In this article, we introduce you to the cities, provinces, and earthquake-prone regions of Turkey, as well as low-risk areas.
What is an earthquake map?э
An earthquake map, also known as Deprem Haritasi in Turkish or Earthquake Map in English, is created to show seismographic maps and areas where earthquakes may occur.
Map of fault lines in Türkiye
The last map of Turkey’s fault lines and earthquake-prone areas was presented in 1996, which was updated by the Turkish Emergency and Accident Management Agency (AFAD) and was published many times in official Turkish newspapers in 2018 for the information of citizens. On the first day of 1440 AH (September 11, 2018), a new map of Turkey’s earthquake-prone areas was presented by the government. The new map is prepared with the latest earthquake source parameters, earthquake catalog and new generation mathematical models with more accurate data. It is important to note that the earthquake hazard map is not a hazard map. To create a risk map, the condition of the structures, the impact of the population at the time of the earthquake, the determination of the economic losses and the calculation of the environmental losses caused by the earthquake should be considered.
Classification and map of earthquake prone areas in Türkiye
According to the map of Turkey’s earthquake prone areas, we can talk about five areas that are exposed to different risks. Group 1 has the highest risk and group 5 has the lowest risk. In the following, we will explain the classification of different provinces of Turkey from group 1 to group 5. The provinces with the lowest risk of earthquakes are in groups 4 and 5. Therefore, Sinop, Kastamono, Girson, Trabzon, Rize, Artvin, and Kırklareli are among the provinces with the lowest risk.
Turkish citizens can also use the services provided by the Turkish Emergency and Accident Management Agency (AFAD) through e-government to view the risk of earthquakes and fault lines in their residential areas. You can use this service by referring to this link.
Earthquake risk in the provinces of Türkiye
Group 1 – Provinces with high earthquake risk
Baliksir, Manisa, Izmir, Aydin, Mugla, Denizli, Bordor, Isparta, Bursa, Yalova, Bilgic
Sakaria, Kojali, Dozche, Hatay, Kershehir, Bolo, Karabuk
Cankiri, Bartin, Amasya, Tokat, Erzincan, Canakkale, Tunceli, Bingol
Mouse, Hakkari, Siret, Osmaniyeh, Karaik Kale
Group 2 – Provinces with high earthquake risk
Istanbul District 1 and 2, Sirnak, Bitlis, Adiaman, Kahramanmaras, Van
Takirdag, Zonguldak, Antalya, Afion, Samson, Erzurum
Ardahan, Qars, Ighdir, Batman, Diyarbakir, Elazigh
Malatya, Adana, Kutahya, Eskisehir, Usak, Corum, Cankiri, Agri
Group 3 – Provinces with moderate earthquake risk
In the provinces of group 3, the risk of earthquake is lower compared to groups 1 and 2.
Eskishahir, Antalya, Edirne, Takirdag, Istanbul, Kastamono, Sinop
Samson, Ordu, Girson, Artvin, Mardin, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis, some areas of Adana.
Kahramanmaras, Sivas, Gumushane, Bayburt, Kayseri, Yozgat, Nevsehir, Corum, Ankara, Konya, Mersin
Group 4 and 5 – Provinces with low earthquake risk
Sinop, Girson, Trabzon, Rize, Artvin
Kirklarli, Ankara, Noshehir, Edirne, Adana, Nigde, Konya, Aksaray
Karaman is part of group 5.
Understanding the risk of earthquakes in the provinces of Türkiye
