Turkey's updated active fault map prompts seismic safety warnings

Turkey's Mine Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA) released an updated Diri Fay (active fault) map in 2026, raising the recorded number of active faults from 485 to 700. Professor Osman Bektaş emphasized that the increase does not automatically raise seismic danger; it simply provides a more detailed picture of fault sources.

Bektaş warned that many critical facilities—hospitals, stadiums, airports—have been built on sea‑filled grounds along the Black Sea coast, where active offshore faults lie. He highlighted the risk of ground liquefaction during an earthquake and called for those offshore fault data to be incorporated into the forthcoming AFAD Turkey Earthquake Hazard Map. He also urged that MTA’s seismic data be filtered through an academic consortium for public‑safety use.

MTA director Vedat Yanık noted that the new map results from extensive field work and will serve as a key reference for hazard analyses, infrastructure planning, and disaster‑risk reduction policies.