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Türkiye was shaken by an average of 117 earthquakes a day in the first quarter of the year, as the country recorded 12,928 tremors between January and March.
Disaster management expert Assoc. Prof. Bulent Ozmen said most of the earthquakes were small or medium in magnitude, but the overall activity remained notable. He said Türkiye was also shaken by an earthquake above magnitude 4 every two days and by one above magnitude 5 roughly every 27 days.
Ozmen said the first-quarter earthquake activity was slightly above the 20-year average, mainly because of ongoing seismic movements around Sindirgi in Balikesir and Simav in Kutahya.
According to Ozmen, around 30% of all earthquakes in the period occurred in Sindirgi, while 8.1% were recorded in Simav. Together, these two areas accounted for nearly 40% of Türkiye’s seismic activity in the first quarter.
At the provincial level, Balikesir recorded the highest number of earthquakes, followed by Kutahya, Malatya and Mugla.
The strongest earthquake in Türkiye during the period was the magnitude 5.5 tremor recorded in Niksar, Tokat, on March 13.
Ozmen also noted that earthquakes above magnitude 5 were recorded in Tusba in Van, Buldan in Denizli and Sindirgi in Balikesir, bringing the total number of such tremors to four in the first quarter.
Ozmen said Türkiye’s dense network of active faults explains why earthquakes remain a normal part of the country’s geography. An active fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust that has the potential to produce future earthquakes.
He recalled that a 2012 map by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration listed around 500 active faults in Türkiye. New work by AFAD and MTA has now found that the number of active faults within land borders has exceeded 600, while the total approaches 1,000 when offshore areas and neighboring regions are included.
Ozmen said the most notable recent activity has centered on Sindirgi and Simav. Since Aug. 10, 2025, more than 26,000 earthquakes have occurred in Sindirgi, while nearly 6,000 have been recorded in Simav.
Although these tremors are evaluated in connection with magmatic intrusions, Ozmen said this does not mean the earthquake danger in the region has disappeared. He stressed that the activity shows the need for more detailed scientific studies and observations.
He added that scientific studies and official reports indicate the Simav Fault Zone has the potential to produce earthquakes between magnitude 6.5 and 7, meaning the risk in the region should not be underestimated.
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