Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) is establishing a deep well earthquake monitoring station in Erenköy.

With the station, the installation of which has started and developed with domestic software, the number of observation stations in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will increase to 22.

This new station will allow the seismic activity in the Eastern Mediterranean to be monitored more accurately.

AFAD Director General for Earthquake and Risk Reduction Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar spoke to Anadolu Agency about the studies initiated after the February 6 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, which claimed over 53,000 lives.

Tatar stated that 485 live faults were prioritized within the scope of the “Determination of Paleoseismological Characteristics of Türkiye’s Live Faults Project” and that experts from TÜBİTAK, AFAD, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration and 24 universities are currently working on 132 of them.

He noted that with the results to be obtained, the earthquake hazard map of Türkiye will be updated.

Stating that in 2025, the number of stations in the national seismic network will increase to over 1,200, Tatar said, “In 2024, we established and put into operation a large deep well earthquake observation station in Shusha, Azerbaijan. We transferred our national earthquake software to Azerbaijan, and now we are transferring the same to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In 2025, we will have completed both our software and our deep well earthquake observation station. Thus, the number of stations in the TRNC will increase to 22.”

Stating that the station, which started to be installed in Erenköy, will also have the ability to measure micro-earthquakes up to 0.1 magnitude, Tatar added that the system consists of different sensors at a depth of 100 meters and that the seismic activity in the Eastern Mediterranean can be monitored more accurately with this installation.