The other day, during a discussion on “Regional Seismic Activity” at the “Dialogue Media Center” in Gyumri, Heghine Sargsyan, chief specialist of the seismology department of the Complex Seismic Hazard Assessment Department, referring to the devastating earthquake that occurred in Turkey and Syria, said: “Seismic activity in Armenia, according to today’s data, is equal to the norm. Yesterday we examined their total energy, which corresponds to the normal state, so now there is nothing dangerous for Armenia; there may be earthquakes, and we can feel it, but they will be weak, not such devastating earthquakes.
This earthquake was unique for our region because we hardly have two earthquakes of such magnitude. The Spitak earthquake created several foci, but this earthquake happened; another quake of the same type struck 100 kilometers away, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Let me say that the earthquake caused a tsunami in the Sea of Marmara; its wave reached 3 meters, and this earthquake caused a crack of 150 kilometers. During our Spitak earthquake, we had 50-kilometer damage. The aftershocks of this earthquake, earthquakes with a magnitude higher than five already reach 30, which is a huge number, not counting the remaining weak tremors, from 3 to 4.”
Nune AREVSHATYAN
