In a tweet on February 3, Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets predicted that an earthquake of greater than 7.5-magnitude would strike Turkey. His prediction came true three days later, on Monday when 4 temblors killed over 1,500 people in Turkey and Syria.

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Who is Frank Hoogerbeets?

Frank Hoogerbeets works for the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS). SSGEOS is a research institute that monitors the geometry of celestial bodies in relation to seismic activity.

Hoogerbeets predicted that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake would occur in the region of South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon in February 2023. His predictions did indeed come true.

However, some on Twitter labeled him a pseudo-scientist and questioned his previous predictions. Hoogerbeets retweeted a post by his research agency SSGEOS shortly after the once-in-a-century earthquake, predicting the possibility of a new big temblor. A second earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Turkey about three hours after the tweet.

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“Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 #earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon). #deprem,” tweeted on February 3, 2023.

“My heart goes out to everyone affected by the major earthquake in Central Turkey. As I stated earlier, sooner or later this would happen in this region, similar to the years 115 and 526. These earthquakes are always preceded by critical planetary geometry, as we had on 4-5 Feb,” Hoogerbeets expressed his dismay when his prediction came true. He also retweeted an SSGEOS post that predicted another large earthquake just hours before a 7.6 magnitude quake struck southern Turkey.

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The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, occurred while people were sleeping and were one of the strongest to strike the area in at least a century. It was felt as far away as Cairo and Cyprus. According to preliminary data from the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the second significant earthquake, measuring 7.7-magnitude and occurring at a depth of 1.2 miles, was located 42 miles northeast of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (EMSC). There have been over a hundred minor aftershocks.