Death Toll From Earthquake Near Turkey-Syria Border Surpasses 3700

A massive earthquake, registering at 7.8 on the Richter scale, struck near the Turkish-Syrian Border early Monday morning. The epicenter of the quake is located just east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi, in the Kahramanmaras Province, but death and destruction has reached far and wide along the southeastern border with Syria and into central Turkey. As of Monday evening the death toll sits at over 3700.

A Historic Disaster

Only two deadly earthquakes between 2013 and 2022 were of a similar magnitude as this quake, which shows just how powerful and severe this quake was. A 7.5 quake followed the initial 7.8 quake hours later, and 60 miles down the fault line.

Videos posted to social media showed multistory-high buildings collapsing, as the quake is reported to have leveled whole apartment blocks in Turkey. The quake was so powerful it could be felt as far away as Cairo.

The rescue effort in Turkey has been extensive, but efforts have been slowed by frigid temperatures and snowy weather.

“Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night makes things more difficult,” said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, calling the disaster “historic” and the worst earthquake to hit the country since 1939. Erdogan called for seven days of national mourning for the victims.

Why Was This Quake So Destructive?

The earthquake originated from the East Anatolian Fault, a strike-slip fault zone situated between the Anatolian and Arabian Plates. The fault hasn’t produced many large quakes over the last 100 years, but does have a deadly record going even further back. In 1822, the fault produced a 7.0 magnitude quake, with a death toll estimated to be around 20,000 people.

Strike-slip faults produce some of the most damaging earthquakes on the planet. This is because strike-slip faults occur between two plates traveling horizontally across each other. As the plates grind against one another they catch and get stuck against each other. The longer they are stuck, the more the pressure builds, until they finally “slip” and release all of that energy along the fault.

Written by Seth Herlinger

Sources:

AP News: Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 3,400

Reuters: Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?

Reuters: Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors

Top and featured image by Voice of America, Courtesy of Wikimedia – Public Domain