After the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, the epicenters of which were Kahramanmaraş and which caused great destruction in 10 provinces, including Kilis, Diyarbakır, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Malatya and Hatay, all of Türkiye mobilized to heal the wounds in the disaster area.
As soon as hearing from the earthquake of the century, TÜBİTAK took action and went to the disaster area with 18 disaster groups, 28 institutions and 81 researchers. After the disaster that stifled Türkiye, TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center continues various scientific research studies in the region.
Especially in Gaziantep, within the scope of "Gaziantep Province Seismic Hazard Assessment Project" carried out jointly with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, many research, survey and evaluation studies are carried out for the purpose of soil classification, seismic hazard and risk assessment. TÜBİTAK MAM also contributes to the formation of correct and effective decision mechanisms in post-disaster engineering, planning and management through ongoing project studies.
EARTHQUAKE MONITORING STATIONS ESTABLISHED IN THE REGION
TÜBİTAK MAM keeps conducting useful studies in the region from the moment of the earthquake. TÜBİTAK MAM Climate Change and Sustainability Vice Presidency Earth Sciences Research Group started Post-Earthquake Emergency Observation Studies (DEPAR-II) right after the earthquake and carried out the installation of earthquake monitoring stations on the same day with 2 vehicles and a team of 6 people. With these studies, including the installation of monitoring stations in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay on 7-8 February, it is also aimed to get critical information by monitoring aftershocks and deformations with seismology and GPS observation networks after the major earthquakes, finding out the spatial and temporal behavior of the ruptured faults, finding out the stresses that may occur on neighboring fault segments and detecting the areas with earthquake potential.
TÜBİTAK MAM also keeps spending efforts to establish GPS observation stations in the region in cooperation with Yıldız Technical University and Boğaziçi University. Aftershocks are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with 13 near-field earthquake monitoring stations in the region. With these studies, it is aimed to determine seismic hazards before other possible major earthquakes in the region so as to minimize earthquake damages.