The number of earthquakes in Turkey's southeast may exceed the casualties of previous disasters, Hürriyet newspaper reported.

Seismologists state that Istanbul is located at the junction of the Anatolian and Eurasian tectonic plates, 15-20 kilometers south of the section of the North Anatolian fault, which runs under the Sea of Marmara. Thus, the earthquake could have catastrophic consequences.

There are 1 million 164,000 buildings and 4.5 million apartments in Istanbul, each with an average of 3.3 people. In an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 or higher, 13,492 buildings are expected to be critically damaged and 39,325 buildings severely damaged.

It is known that 70% of buildings in Istanbul were built before 2000.