Earthquake in Turkey

On this past Sunday march 8th yet another earthquake occurred, but this time Turkey was the victim. The earthquake was magnitude 5.9 and about 51 people were killed. Although this particular earthquake closely followed both the earthquake in Haiti and Peru, seismologists believe they are too distant geographically to be related. Okcular seemed to be the town most affected by the earthquake. Villages which consisted of mud-brick and stone houses did not stand a chance. The collapsed buildings were the cause of the majority of the deaths and the Prime Minister of Turkey promised the area will be re-built with quake-proof homes. After the original earthquake, aftershocks up to a magnitude of 5.5 have continued to strike. Earthquakes in Turkey are fairly common, as the country is bordered by two major fault lines, the North Anatolian Fault and the East Anatolian Fault. These two faults are part of a "complex geological environment" formed by the constant westward motion of the Anatolian plate. The reason I found this event interesting was because of what seems to be the recent increase in natural disasters.