The 2023 Turkey Earthquakes: “It Felt Like It Would Never Be Over”

Turkey and Syria are reeling after being struck by two enormous earthquakes in quick succession. Both earthquakes occurred along the East Anatolian Fault Zone; between them and their aftershocks, the damage is catastrophic, and the death toll is already in the thousands and rapidly climbing.

The first earthquake, striking near Gaziantep at 4:17 am local time, was measured by the USGS as a M7.8. At first, it wasn’t clear whether this earthquake struck within the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) or the Dead Sea Transform fault zone. As of this writing, it appears it was located within the EAFZ.

The second earthquake struck near Ekinözü at 1:24 pm local time, and measured as a M7.5. Though it was 95 kilometers northeast of the initial quake and on a separate fault, it qualifies as an aftershock instead of a stand-alone earthquake. More on that later in this post.

We won’t have a clear picture of precisely which faults were involved, the details of the earthquakes, and the implications for the region going forward for months, possibly longer. Once we have some solid science, I’ll write up a properly detailed post for you. For today, I’ll go over some of the best available science, share some sobering videos, and provide ways you can help people in the affected region. (more…)