Two-minute Recap About The Earthquakes Affecting Türkiye And Syria

A devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the southern region of Turkey on February 6.³ This was followed by another strong earthquake with a 7.5 magnitude, occurring about nine hours later.⁴ The disaster resulted in extensive damage as reportedly over 45,000 people lost their lives and over 100,000 people suffered injuries across 11 cities⁵ in Turkey as well as many others in Syria. The earthquakes had a significant impact on vast number of people and structures with more than 15 million people.^6,7 Many aftershocks are still happening and more than 5,700 aftershocks have been recorded. Significantly, two aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.4 and 5.8 hit the same region, causing more damage. The Turkish government has declared a state of emergency for 3 months in the main affected areas.

These maps below as shared on social media⁸ illustrate the earthquake magnitudes across various major cities worldwide:

What can you do to help?

You can donate to NPOs through the links below:

• AHBAP: https://bagis.ahbap.org/bagis
• AKUT (The Search and Rescue Association): https://www.akut.org.tr/en/donation
• Union of Medical Relief and Care Organizations: https://www.uossm.org/donate
• Disasters Emergency Committee: https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal

Footnotes

1. Map: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/05/europe/earthquake-hits-turkey-intl-hnk/index.html Last accessed: 21/02/2023.

2. Photo of Kahramanmaras, Mehmet Ali Özcan, Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

3. earthquake.usgs.gov.

4. earthquake.usgs.gov.

5. Adana, Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Mardin, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa.

6. https://www.cnnturk.com/ekonomi/son-dakika-bakan-kurum-deprem-13-5-milyon-vatandasi-etkiledi Last accessed: 21/02/2023.

7. https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal Last accessed: 21/02/2023.

8. instagram.com/p/Coco53RO8_y/ Last accessed: 21/02/2023.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.