Turkish earthquake expert says next week will be decisive for Istanbul seismic activity

ISTANBUL, Türkiye — Turkish earthquake specialist Osman Bektaş said the coming week will be a determining period for assessing seismic activity in Istanbul, following a series of small earthquakes recorded in the Marmara Sea. Speaking to Ekonomim newspaper, Bektaş said a sequence of small tremors below magnitude 3.5 had been recorded in the central Marmara basin at depths of 6 to 9 kilometers. He described such events as signs of pressure redistribution along parts of the fault, and stressed that they do not signal an imminent large earthquake. Bektaş said the next three to seven days will provide the most important scientific indicator, with experts watching whether an earthquake above magnitude 4 occurs in that window. Such a tremor would offer a clearer understanding of the fault's current state and ongoing processes. The expert added that expectations should not be limited only to a scenario of a destructive earthquake above magnitude 7. The Marmara Sea lies on the North Anatolian Fault, one of the world's most active seismic zones, and Turkish scientists intensified their observations in the area after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off Istanbul's coast in the spring of 2025.