Earthquake chances

 Yesterday, June 19, 2021, I asked my friend Emily - I also call her my Zimbabwe daughter -  if she would come with and show me Canyon Mall.  It isn't far from where I live and right off the Metro. I'd heard of its unusual architecture of a canyon-like appearance with overhanging "cliffs" above.  

We had a grand time.  We ate lunch at Big Chefs on the top level, one of my favorite restaurants in Istanbul.  I've been to Big Chefs on the Bosporus near Yenikoy and one in Galata area.  We wandered about looking at jewelry, Turkish glassware, clothing in Marks and Spencer, and purchasing a few items.  

Later in the afternoon, we stopped for coffee at a cafe on the lower level.  In the middle of our conversation, I felt the floor beneath my feet bump.  Just once.  I looked at Emily and she looked at me and I said the obvious, "Did you feel that?"  "Yes."  She acknowledged.  Earthquake?  

Emily and I looked all around us.  Everyone was continuing to sip their coffee and tea without a blink.  We grabbed our phones to see if there was any information about what we just felt.  It took a few minutes online, plus a call from Emily's fiancé to know that, yes indeed, we felt an earthquake tremor. 

According to Volcano Discovery there have been 673 earthquakes in Turkey in the past 30 days.  606 at  2.0-3.0; 68 at  3.0-4.0; and 9 at 4.0 and above.  This quake was in Istanbul on the ASIAN side.  I was on the EUROPEAN side.  It registered 4.2.   

Surprisingly, this same site revealed the USA has had 1806 earthquakes in the past 30 days.  1524 were 2.0 - 3.0; 250 were 3.0-4.0; and 32 were 4.0 - 6.1.  

So, with that perspective, I can push the elevator button to the 22nd floor and enter my apartment knowing the chance is there - just like tornadoes in Kentucky in the spring.  But, I will take my chances.