Earthquakes can either be subtle or deadly. Over 41,000 people are reported to have been killed and 70,000 injured following two powerful earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria. The earthquake struck in the early hours on the 6th of February, with a magnitude of 7.8. Hours later, another earthquake struck with a magnitude of 7.5. The earthquakes are estimated to have a direct impact on 23 million people. The people of Syria and Turkey are in dire need of some help. 

The epicenter of the first earthquake hit near the Turkish City of Gaziantep, which is around 150 miles north of the Syrian border. The second, just hours later at 1:30pm local time, was further north in central Türkiye (Turkey). Extensive damage has been reported in Türkiye (Turkey), with buildings collapsing in cities including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Matalya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa. In Syria, there are reports of collapsed buildings in the Aleppo, Idlib, Lattakia, and Hamma governorates, and extensive damage in rural Damascus. 

Thousands of people’s homes have been destroyed, while hospitals, roads and bridges have been badly damaged. The earthquakes’ impacts were so large that tremors were reported as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. Currently 3,000 people are accommodated in temporary shelters and 380,000 in schools and education facilities. In Türkiye (Turkey), over 26,000 are reported to have died, and in Syria it is believed that more than 3,500 have died. Sadly, the death toll continues to increase as rescue teams search through the rubble of the hundreds of damaged buildings, often in freezing conditions.