On February 6th, 2023 an earthquake hit southern/central Turkey and northern/western Syria. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit at about four in the morning reaching as far as Lebanon and Israel. Many aftershocks have also been counted, including the largest measuring 7.5 in magnitude. 

Because of these two powerful earthquakes, many buildings have collapsed – over 44,374 in Turkey and more than 6,000 in Syria have been recorded at the time of this article. Since the earthquake happened there are people rummaging through the rubble looking for survivors. At least 8 people were rescued on February 13th, 2023. The U.N. says that the rescue phase is coming to a close in Syria. 

On the day of writing this article, February 27th, another earthquake hit Yesilyur Turkey, causing more buildings to fall – 69 people injured with the death toll only at one. This earthquake was counted as a 5.6 magnitude and more than two dozen buildings have fallen. Strong aftershocks are still posing a threat to the people living in Turkey and Syria. 

Many people have been misplaced out of their homes and have lost many family members. Many survivors are sleeping on the streets in the freezing cold and heavy rain. A majority of these people are either women or children. 

People in Syria and Turkey are now starting to rebuild after the earthquakes left more than 1.5 million people without homes. About 173,000 buildings crumbled during or after the quakes. The cost of the damage is reaching almost $20 billion.  This earthquake will help scientists learn more about what causes these earthquakes, and the similarities between different places and different quakes.