On Feb. 7, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. Homes were destroyed and broken down. Several commercial buildings had collapsed and were obliterated. This big hit caused many damages such as broken glasses, messed up furniture, and steel was scattered everywhere, introducing a severe threat of injury to people nearby. 

The death toll is estimated to be about 41,000 people. In Turkey, about 35,418 people were killed and 5,801 were killed in Syria. Families lost their children, fathers, mothers and loved ones. 

In 1939, the Erzincan earthquake hit Turkey; until now, it was the deadliest earthquake to have hit Turkey. There were 32, 968 people who died in 1939. On top of that, 35,418 people were killed which beats the record from the past earthquake. 

About 80,000 people were injured and seeking medical help. “The White Helmets”, which are volunteer responders in an organization who risk their lives to save the people trapped in all the rubble and destroyed areas, rushed to the aide of the survivors. They helped rebuild people’s homes, restored infrastructure and generally ensured that no person was left behind in the rubble.

The massive earthquake gave many people aftershocks. Over 25,000 people in Turkey and Syria were killed due to the aftershocks. Conditions like poor water, low food supply, and searching for shelter caused many of these deaths after the earthquake hit. 

In Syria, the people need more help because of the temperatures. It’s freezing in most of the areas and the people who lost their homes need to find shelter. They don’t have anywhere to go and it’s really bad there. 

This Kahramanras quake was one of  the deadliest earthquakes in the past 100 years.