[U-13] February 2023 Earthquake Sequence of the East Anatolian fault zone in Turkey

[U13-11] Learning from the past – Recognition of natural hazards and human history around East Anatolian Fault: a case study in Kayseri, Turkey

*Yuichi S. Hayakawa¹, Koji Okumura², Ryoichi Kontani³, Yuji Yamaguchi⁴, Fikri Kulakoglu⁵ (1.Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, 2.Graduate School of Letters, Hiroshima University, 3.Faculty of Literature, Notre Dame Seishin University, 4.Research Institute for the Dynamics of Civilizations, Okayama University, 5.Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Ankara University)

Keywords:natural hazards, geoarchaeology, earthquakes, faults, floods, landslides

Knowing the occurrences of various natural hazards, including earthquakes, flood, storms, and volcanic activities either in historic or prehistoric periods are crucial for future disaster mitigation, particularly in tectonically-active regions. However, because of the infrequency of such extreme events, historical records or people's memories of severe natural hazards often lack in middle east countries, including Turkey and Syria. It is therefore highly recommended to assess the past occurrences of hazardous phenomena associated with some archaeological records. Here we explore the geomorphological and geoarchaeological records in the Kayseri region, central Anatolia, where many prehistoric archaeological settlements are located in potentially hazardous environments with floodplains, volcanoes, and faults. We conducted field surveys to obtain detailed topographic data of the study sites using high-definition measurement methods such as laser range measurement, global navigation satellite system, and structure-from-motion multi-view stereo photogrammetry, as well as some subsurface information of geological and sedimentological records. From our investigations of landforms, including floodplain, alluvial fans, fault scarps, and debris avalanche deposits, several potential risks of natural hazards in the area were suggested regarding floods in basins, sector collapse of volcanic mountain bodies, and earthquakes by normal fault displacements in the late Pleistocene and Holocene periods, and some of them may have been associated with human activities that appear in archaeological records. Geomorphological and geological data, including a regional geomorphological map, will be further analyzed to explore spatiotemporal relationships between human settlements and landform developments. Also, disseminating these facts is crucial for mitigating future disasters by not only earthquakes but also multiple hazards. We promote the use of spatial data, including two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional models of landforms, for the effective dissemination of disaster risks in the regions so that residents can think of what to do in their daily life and urban planning.