Devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria – only four more deadly since 2000 How to get through the winter with an e-bike

Earthquakes are commonplace on our planet. Small quakes occur again and again and larger earthquakes are not uncommon. In the 21st century, there have been more than 800 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or more or with at least one death. The danger of large earthquakes is particularly great at the boundaries of the continental plates, as the map of the most severe earthquakes of the 21st century clearly shows.

The most recent double earthquake in Turkey even happened at a "triple junction", more precisely on the boundary between the Anatolian, Arabian and African plates. On February 6, the earth on the Turkish-Syrian border shook twice violently within a few hours - magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 were recorded. Over a length of about 400 kilometers, the subsurface was broken open with fatal consequences.

By the morning of February 10, a total of 21,542 dead and over 78,100 wounded had been recovered. In addition, thousands of buildings were destroyed. This makes Turkey's earthquake one of the most devastating in the 21st century.

The deadliest earthquakes

1. 2010 Haiti earthquake

316,000 dead

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck the Caribbean country of Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the Haitian government, 316,000 people died in the disaster. 1.5 million lose their roof over their heads. The capital Port-au-Prince, near the epicenter, has been almost completely destroyed.

2. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

227,898 dead

A magnitude 9.1 earthquake with an epicenter 85 kilometers off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a series of tsunamis on December 26, 2004, killing nearly 230,000 people. In the coastal areas, locals and tourists were defenseless against the monster waves.

3. 2008 Sichuan earthquake

87,589 killed

On May 12, 2008, the earth shook in the central Chinese province of Sichuan. The epicenter of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake is only about 75 kilometers northwest of Chengdu city and at a shallow depth, causing extensive damage. 5.8 million people became homeless, 87,589 died.

4. 2005 Kashmir earthquake

87,351 dead

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake on October 8, 2005 in the Pakistan-administered region of Asad Kashmir caused a rupture of about 100 km along which almost all buildings were destroyed. Numerous villages were literally razed to the ground. 87,351 people died and 780,000 buildings were destroyed.

5. 2023 Turkey and Syria Earthquake

21,542 dead (as of February 10)

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale shook the Turkish-Syrian border region on February 6, 2023, followed a few hours later by another earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale. By the morning of February 10, a total of over 21,700 dead and over 78,100 wounded had been recovered. In addition, thousands of buildings were destroyed, including two hospitals in Turkey. Heavy precipitation and cold also complicate the rescue work, which is still underway.

6. 2003 Bam earthquake

26,271 dead

In the early morning of December 26, 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale devastated the region around the historic city of Bam in the southern Iranian province of Kerman. In the city of 100,000 on the Silk Road, most of the adobe buildings are on the brink of collapse, with more than 25,000 people buried.

7. 2011 Tohoku earthquake

20,852 dead

The earthquake of the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011 went down in history as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. With a magnitude of 9.1, the quake initially triggered several tsunami waves that swept Japan's Pacific coast over an area of ​​more than 500 km². Nearly 21,000 people lost their lives and about 400,000 buildings were completely destroyed. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit by a 14-meter wave, there were several accidents and radioactivity leaks.

8. 2001 Gujarat Earthquake

20,085 dead

On January 26, 2001, on the morning of India's Republic Day, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the Indian state of Gujarat. The loose sedimentary soil allowed the seismic tremors to have a particularly destructive effect: more than 20,000 people died and 166,836 were injured.

9. 2015 Nepal earthquake

9018 dead

In the spring of 2015, Nepal was hit by a number of major earthquakes. The first and strongest, with a magnitude of 7.8, shook the country on April 25. The Kathmandu Valley and nearby valleys were hardest hit, with many people buried under the rubble of collapsing houses or avalanches. 9,018 were killed and 22,300 were injured.

10. 2006 Yogyakarta Earthquake

5782 dead

On May 27, 2006, an earthquake in the Yogyakarta sultanate on the Indonesian island of Java brought back bad memories of the devastating 2004 tsunami. Because it was a landquake and the magnitude of 6.3 was significantly lower, no monster waves formed. Nevertheless, 5,782 people died in the disaster and 350,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged.

The strongest earthquakes

The strongest earthquakes are not always the most devastating. The three earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra in 2005, 2007 and 2012 produced tsunamis with a maximum wave height of about one metre, which caused only minor damage despite the magnitude of the earthquake.

In general, the number of casualties depends on the one hand on physical (size, duration, distance from the epicenter) and on the other hand on human factors (population density, common construction methods, protective measures).

Most costly earthquakes

The two earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria were devastating, killing thousands and causing countless buildings to collapse. In terms of damage magnitude, the February 2023 earthquake is likely to lag far behind other earthquakes of the 21st century. Since the turn of the millennium, earthquakes in wealthier countries (Japan, China, New Zealand, Italy) have resulted in extremely high costs.

^{(Source: Wikipedia)}