ALBAWABA - Everyone is worried about the next mega-ton earthquake. The worry is increasing because of Monday's 7.8 quake that hit Turkey and Syria with thousands reported dead, and the numbers are still increasing as they are brought out of the rubble.
Already there are 15,00 reported dead and more that 40,000 reported injured. But the worry lies in the aftershocks the original earthquake left in its wake. On Tuesday the Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay said Turkey was subjected to 790 aftershocks since the big earthquake occurred in the early hours of Monday morning. But the figures were soon updated by Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency which put the aftershocks at 1052 aftershocks.
And for a while people started saying the regional quake is triggering a global shockwave as New York, Russia's Russian Kuril Islands, Khazakhstan and Algeria reported tremors. In the immediate surroundings the massive earthquake, never to have been experienced since 1939 according to experts, was felt in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus.
The tremor reportage was all in a span of 48 hours. In Egypt, a tremor was felt Tuesday. Egyptian geologist Mohamed El-Gazzar warned the country maybe in for a coming earthquake along the lines experienced in Turkey and Syria.
He explained this is because of its location with Turkey and Syria in the African Rift Zone, which extends from Greater Cairo to the northern Mediterranean countries, including Greece, and extends from the far western borders of the African continent to Palestine and Iran.
Near to home was the three minor earthquakes felt in Nablus on Tuesday and Wednesday. Many said this was the direct results of earthquake in Turkey. And as a result few in Jordan felt worried because Nablus is only 67 kilometers from Amman. However, Dr Najeeb Abu Karaki, Geophysics professor in the University of Jordan begs to differ.
He said the tremor - 4.4 on the Richter scale that occurred in Nablus on Tuesday is not compared to the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, as it is about 50,000 times smaller in terms of energy relative enthused by the Turkish big one.
Abu Karaki told the Rum news website that the region has always been subject to small tremors occurring every few months because of the natural movements of the earth's tectonic plates.
But these words may not allay the fears of many people. In Lebanon a 4.3 hit the city of Tripoli. This was considered minor but it was reported that many slept in the outside and public parks on Wednesday.
