22.10.2025 12:54
A 2.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Balıkesir last night. The concern is not so much about the magnitude of the earthquake, but rather the fault on which it occurred. Geology Engineer Aysun Aykan warned of the danger, stating, "This fault has the potential to produce an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude, and it has been 2,000 years since the last earthquake."
Last night at 22:47, a 2.5 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in Balıkesir city center (Karesi central district) caused a brief panic. The earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 12 kilometers and lasted for 2-3 seconds, raised concerns as it took place on the fault known as the Gökçeyazı fault.
"THIS FAULT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE A 7.2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE" Speaking on the subject, Geology Engineer Aysun Aykan stated, "In the last 24 hours, there have been 2 earthquakes within the deformation zone of the Gökçeyazı fault in Balıkesir. These earthquakes are of small magnitude and normally do not cause damage or destruction; most of the time, we do not even feel earthquakes of this magnitude; however, I believe it was felt by our citizens because the epicenter of the earthquake was in populated areas. Because paleoseismological studies conducted on the Gökçeyazı fault segment show that this fault has the potential to produce an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude and that it has been 2,000 years since the last earthquake occurred on this fault. Therefore, we need to draw attention to the danger of this fault. I can express that this fault has the potential to produce a major earthquake in the near future. We have been warning about the need to pay attention to this fault for a long time. Our citizens must take precautions against a major earthquake and be careful," she said.
"A DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKE IS EXPECTED IN THE NEAR FUTURE" "A destructive earthquake is expected in the near future on the Gökçeyazı segment of the Havran-Balıkesir Fault Zone"; this statement was included in the results report book of the 'Disaster Status and Management Workshop of Balıkesir' organized by the Chamber of Geological Engineers in 2019. The results report book included the following sentences regarding the Gökçeyazı fault:
"The Güngörmez and Dede trenches opened on the Gökçeyazı segment of the Balıkesir fault show that this segment has produced earthquakes resulting from surface faulting in BC, but it has not yet broken in the AD period. Particularly, data obtained from the Güngörmez trench indicate that 4 paleoevents occurred up to BC 850±50. According to these earthquakes, the recurrence interval of the fault is accepted to be approximately one thousand years. Accordingly, since there is no seismic record indicating that the fault produced an earthquake in the AD period, it is understood that it has been 2,000 years since the last earthquake originating from this fault. Trench data also show that the fault branch in the Dede trench is older than the fault branch in the Güngörmez trench. The Gökçeyazı segment is an active fault that can be traced for approximately 40 kilometers."