Prediction of Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

"Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (southern Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon)", wrote the user identified as Frank Hoogerbeets.

After the earthquake, which occurred in the early morning of Monday, February 6, his tweet went viral, accumulating more than 33 million views and 34,000 retweets.

An internet user pointed out that Hoogerbeets had "accurately predicted the exact area and nearly the exact magnitude" of the seismic activity.

Viral Tweet that "Predicted" the Turkey Earthquake

The biography of Hoogerbeets states that he is a researcher at Solar System Geometry Survey, which is described on their website as a research institute "to monitor the geometry between celestial bodies related to seismic activity."

Although he doesn't have a degree in science, the man is enthusiastic about the topic and often makes predictions about possible earthquakes.

Is it Possible to Predict an Earthquake?

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states that there is no way to predict the time and date of an earthquake. According to the institution, neither they nor any other scientist have ever predicted a major earthquake.

"Earthquakes are not a predictable phenomenon. Nobody can accurately predict the location, magnitude, and timing of an earthquake," said William Barnhart, Assistant Coordinator of the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, to Newsweek.

"The statements on social media that an earthquake would occur in the affected region of Turkey were timely given that they were made coincidentally before a major sequence of earthquakes, and the statements were accurate in suggesting that a major earthquake could occur in this region someday because it is a seismically active region with a known risk of large and damaging earthquakes," he added.

"There is currently no accepted scientific merit to the suggestion that earthquakes occur in response to planetary alignments or other phenomena in the solar system," Barnhart concluded.