The Turkey-Syria Earthquake and Its Devastating Effects
By: Elham Abdel Jalil
On February 6th, one of the deadliest earthquakes in a long time hit Turkey and Syria. As of February 8th, the death toll has risen to over 15,000 and thousands more injured. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 26 kilometers east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi, and it was about 18 kilometers deep on the East Anatolian Fault. It moved northeast toward central Turkey and north Syria, causing thousands of tragedies in its path. The Turkey-Syria earthquake was registered at a massive 7.8 on the Richter Scale. To put that in perspective, there are less than 20 earthquakes over a 7.0 magnitude every year, which means that this one was very major.
The reason the recent earthquake was so severe is because of how susceptible Turkey is compared to other countries in the world. This is because the East Anatolian Fault has 3 different tectonic plates pushing on it: the African plate pushing north, the Arabian plate pushing northwest, and the Anatolian plate pushing west. These solid rock plates push against each other with such pressure that eventually one shifts drastically, causing a huge amount of strain that can cause an earthquake. Because Turkey is so vulnerable to tectonic shifts, it is extra susceptible to earthquakes, as seen on Monday.
After the initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the damage was still not done. A 6.7-magnitude aftershock hit the region just 11 minutes later, followed by 7.5-magnitude and 6.0-magnitude quakes hours later. Because the earthquake and its effects were so severe, it was felt as far away as Lebanon and even Egypt. The weather makes the severity even worse; people trapped under rubble are even less likely to survive because of the cold winter. Experts believe that the death toll will continue to rise, destroying thousands and thousands of lives.
Even though the Turkey-Syria earthquake was extremely deadly, there has been a “disproportionate response” to the devastation. This is because Syria is already facing a shortage of fuel, generators, heavy machinery for rescue operations, and ambulance/truck repair parts. As of February 8th, the specialized natural disaster assessment team from the United Nations were still on their way to Syria, causing confusion as to why they were being so slow. According to the UN, this is because of “the ability of people to mobilize in one country compared to the other.” Another factor is the political tension regarding Syria and the war. However, the UN is “hoping that everybody puts the interest of the people first,” and puts politics aside.
All in all, Monday’s disaster has caused thousands upon thousands to lose their lives and the lives of their loved ones. It is definitely one of the most severe earthquakes of the decade and is expected to continue destroying the land and people, and will certainly take immense amounts of effort and action to repair its damage.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/02/08/world/turkey-syria-earthquake
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/why-was-turkey-syria-earthquake-so-bad-2023-02-06/