Planet Labs image of the coseismic landslide near Islahiye in Turkey

There has been considerable interest in the landslides triggered by the 6 February 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake, and by its aftershocks.  Analysis of these events continues.  One of the more interesting landslides was triggered near to Islahiye in Turkey.  This is a cloudy area, so obtaining a good quality image of it has been a challenge, but Planet succeeded in capturing a high resolution Skysat image earlier this month.  This is the image:-

Satellite image of the valley-blocking landslide near Islahiye, Turkey. Image copyright Planet, used with permission. Image dated 5 April 2023.

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As the image above shows, this is a large rockslide – it is about 500 metres from the crown to the toe and about 220 m wide.  The location is 37.004, 36.592.  This is how it looks in Google Earth:-

Satellite image of the valley-blocking landslide near Islahiye, Turkey, draped onto the Google Earth DEM. Image copyright Planet, used with permission. Image dated 5 April 2023.

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As the image shows, the landslide is valley-blocking., and a small lake has developed (this is about 400 metres long). There has been a little bit of coverage of this landslide in the Turkish media, for example Pusula has a short article from late March that includes this image:-

The valley-blocking landslide near Islahiye, Turkey. Image via Pusula.

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Meanwhile, an article in Ensonhaber describes the work that has been undertaken, which can be seen in the image, to create a spillway.  It includes this image of the crown of the landslide:-

The crown and upper reaches of the valley-blocking landslide near Islahiye, Turkey. Image from Ensonhaber.

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The satellite images appear to indicate that the water level had not reached the spillway when the image was collected, but these prompt actions should ensure that an outburst flood, should it occur, will be manageable.

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Acknowledgement and reference

Thanks as always to the great people at Planet for collecting this excellent image.

Planet Team (2023). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://www.planet.com/