2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake

The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake began on February 6, 2023. A 7.8-magnitude quake struck at 4:17 AM local time, affecting central and southern Turkey and northern and western Syria. Approximately eleven hours later, at 1:24 PM local time, a second, 7.7-magnitude quake struck approximately 59 miles north-northeast of the first quake. Damages were recorded across an area approximately the size of Germany.

More than ten thousand aftershocks occurred within ten days of the first quake, including one with a magnitude of 6.7. As of April 2023, 50,783 people in Turkey were confirmed dead as a result of the quakes, along with 8,476 in Syria, though the actual numbers may be significantly higher.

The quakes drew an international response, with humanitarian organizations around the world raising funds and sending aid to the affected areas. Many of those who survived the quakes were left homeless because of the number of buildings that collapsed, and much international relief has been directed toward feeding and housing these people.

Experts have speculated about why the earthquakes did so much damage, especially in Turkey. The area was likely unprepared, as there had not been a large earthquake there for more than two hundred years. Infrastructure in the area was also less developed than in other areas of the world, making it harder to access, find, and rescue people under collapsed structures. Finally, many of the buildings themselves may have been structurally unsound. People across Turkey have been arrested for alleged construction violations since the quakes.

Background

In addition to the death tolls mentioned above, the number of people left injured and/or homeless was very high, though exact numbers could not be determined. Analysts believe more than 107,000 people were injured in Turkey and more than 14,000 in Syria. In addition, at least four million buildings were affected, including more than 345,000 apartments. This left many survivors without homes they can return to. The quakes also disrupted infrastructure, like roads, water lines, sewer lines, and gas lines, over at least 180 miles. Disruptions like these made life difficult, if not impossible, especially for people in rural areas where repairs may take months to even begin.

Countries and organizations around the world responded to the quakes, allocating funds, raising money, sending experts, ordering heavy equipment, and more. These included the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the World Bank, along with a long list of non-governmental organizations. They have worked extensively to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and more.

During the initial days, the focus was on search and rescue. Although rescue experts were scarce, thousands of regular citizens came to assist. Turkish Airlines provided more than 1,500 flights carrying over 7,800 people focused on these efforts. They, along with 25,000 personnel provided by the Turkish government, moved tons of rubble in efforts to find survivors. Numbers of searchers and rescuers active in Syria are harder to determine due to governmental factions in that country. In Turkey, most search and rescue efforts continued until February 19, 2023, at which point they were officially called off.

Other early volunteers offered medical care to the injured. Because so many were hurt at once, hospitals and emergency clinics in both Turkey and Syria were filled with people who needed care. Since many of these buildings also suffered damage in the quakes, getting medical care was difficult and stressful. Medical volunteers from around the world set up field hospitals and other places where people could get the care they needed.

Some early volunteers also helped with connecting survivors and helping them find the bodies of deceased loved ones. Because of the confusion around the quakes, family members were often separated from one another and many did not know if their friends or loved ones had survived. Volunteers helped these people find each other or learn what had become of their loved ones.

While some have criticized volunteer efforts as insufficient, those who chose to respond with funds or in person offered much in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

Overview

As of April 2023, Turkey and Syria continue to reel from the results of the earthquakes. Syria, in particular, has faced repeated disasters in the twenty-first century. Since 2011, more than half of its population has been displaced for various reasons, and many have been displaced more than once. Between February 6 and February 8, 2023, more than thirty thousand additional people faced displacement.

Despite a huge international outpouring of support in the days following the quake, support and media attention soon waned. This may prove highly problematic for people left without homes, businesses, or infrastructure after the quakes as they will need an ongoing influx of both funding and personnel if they are to recover. Reconstruction in Turkey may cost more than $84 billion USD, with nearly $8 billion more required for Syria. Since the quakes also resulted in economic losses for both countries, continuing international aid and investment will be necessary for a timely recovery.

In addition, many people have questioned the reaction to the quakes and how they were handled on an international level. While support did come in, many believe it was slower than it should have been and that entities with resources did not always provide what they could have. The United Nations, for instance, has received criticism because it did not send a convoy to Syria until February 10 and, when it did, the convoy did not contain the kinds of equipment necessary to move rubble and search structures.

The Turkish government, in particular, has also come under scrutiny. After an earlier earthquake in 1999, Turkey established new building codes designed to ensure that structures would withstand future quakes. Leaders focused on factors like the quality of concrete used in construction and the proper engineering and placement of support beams and other vital structures. Initially, Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, claimed that most of the buildings destroyed had been built prior to 1999. However, experts criticize this claim. They used satellite images of areas where buildings were destroyed to argue that many of the structures were built after 2000. This brings up questions of why structures were built that did not meet the new codes, and who may have stood to profit from their construction.

As of April 2023, the exact years in which many collapsed buildings were built remains uncertain, but Turkey’s government is under ongoing scrutiny. The government tried to place the blame for the collapsed buildings on others. They have arrested owners and builders of some of the collapsed structures, claiming that they cut corners or made changes to the structures that caused their collapse in the quakes. It remains to be seen whether these individuals or the government will ultimately be held responsible.

Turkey and Syria face ongoing needs in a wide variety of areas. As of April 2023, many people still need homes, food, clothing, and ongoing economic support. Mental healthcare is one major area where aid is still seriously lacking. The trauma associated with events like these is high, especially among those who were trapped or those who lost loved ones in the quakes. These people need care to be able to successfully recover their own lives and help those who depend on them, like their children, but programs that offer support like this are not currently widely available in affected areas.

The long-term economic effects of the quakes were only starting to become apparent as of April 2023. More than 20 percent of the agriculture in Turkey may be affected, including crops, fisheries, livestock, and more. The Syrian economy is projected to retract in 2023, up to 5.5 percent, with the quakes being one cause among several. The number of people who will be affected by these losses is unknown, but the effects will likely be international.

The quake is affecting education as well. More than 516 buildings connected to universities were damaged in Turkey, with some of them sustaining heavy damage and many of them unusable in their damaged state. This has the potential to negatively affect education, and therefore income, for generations.

The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes affected a huge number of people, not only those living in the area but also those with loved ones there. The exact toll of the quakes may never be fully quantifiable but, as of April 2023, the analysis and recovery efforts are ongoing. Continuing international aid will likely be key to the ongoing restoration.

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