The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023 shocked the world with its catastrophic consequences, killing more than 40,000 people, and brought back similar disasters that the world has witnessed throughout its history.
Antioch earthquake of 526:
It is described as the largest earthquake that occurred on the territory of the Byzantine Empire. This earthquake struck Antioch and neighboring regions of Syria.
The earthquake occurred at the end of May, and historians believe that it occurred between May 20 and 29, 526. As a result, about 250,000 people died, and the earthquake was followed by a fire that destroyed most of the existing buildings.
Damgan earthquake in Persia in 856:
The strength of the earthquake that struck Damgan, now in Iranian territory, on December 22, 856, was due to the fact that the epicenter of the earthquake was located near the city, while later it turned out that the complex geology of the region also contributed to the size of the damage. As a result, about 200 thousand people died in the cities of Akhvan, Astana, Tash, Bastam and Shahrud.
Aleppo earthquake in Syria in 1138:
On October 11, 1138, a magnitude 8 earthquake killed more than 230,000 people. It is recorded as an indication of the magnitude of this earthquake that the people of Aleppo did not recover from its effects until several centuries later.
The Aleppo earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes that occurred in 1138-1139 and affected the lands of modern northern Syria and southwestern Turkey, and later Iran and Azerbaijan.
Earthquake in the city of Ganja in Azerbaijan in 1139:
This earthquake is one of the largest earthquakes in history in terms of the number of victims, and it dates back to September 30, 1139, and its location is near the city of Ganja.
This strong earthquake completely destroyed the city, killing about 230,000 people, and also led to the collapse of Mount Kapaz and the closure of the channel of the Aksu River passing through it, resulting in the formation of eight lakes, one of which is Goygol Lake. For seismic reasons, Ganja is always an active region, and earthquakes are regularly recorded in this region.
Chinese earthquake in 1556:
This earthquake occurred in Shaanxi Province on January 23, 1556 and killed nearly 830,000 people, the largest earthquake death toll in human history.
This strong earthquake caused deep cracks in the epicenter, and its destructive impact spread to lands within 500 km from the main point.
The huge number of human losses caused by this earthquake is associated with the peculiarity of the construction and type of houses in the province, where most of the population lived in the so-called “loess caves” that collapsed after the first shocks.
Gansu earthquake in China in 1920:
A devastating earthquake occurred in the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi on December 16, 1920. The magnitude of the first strike was 7.8 points. This was followed by a series of tremors lasting three minutes. The total death toll in this natural disaster reached more than 270 thousand people, with many residents dying from the cold after their homes were destroyed.
1923 Kanto earthquake in Japan:
The Great Kanto Earthquake occurred on September 1, 1923 in Japan, and it was this area that was named after the greatest amount of destruction and for which it was named.
This earthquake is also called the Tokyo or Yokohama earthquake because it almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama. The magnitude of this earthquake was 8.3 degrees, and its area was about 56,000 square meters, and it killed 174,000 people.
Chile’s Valdivia earthquake in 1960:
The Chilean earthquake is the strongest ever recorded on Earth, with an estimated magnitude of 9.3 to 9.5. The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the city of Valdivia, while the generated tsunami waves reached a height of about 10 meters and caused serious damage to a vast territory, the tsunami reached the shores of the Philippines and Japan. The number of victims of the earthquake was about 6,000 people, most of whom died as a result of the tsunami.
Tangshan earthquake in China in 1976:
This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5 and the first impact destroyed 90% of all city buildings. More than 240,000 people died, and an unofficial report raises the death toll to 655,000.
The fall of this huge number of victims was due to the fact that the earthquake occurred at night, and everyone was sleeping and had no opportunity to leave their homes and survive. The earthquake destroyed or damaged about 5 million homes, and several aftershocks led to more victims.
1988: Spitak earthquake in Armenia
This strong earthquake occurred on December 7, 1988 and lasted only 30 seconds, while the figures of the people who left it are contradictory. The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 20 kilometers, six kilometers northwest of the city of Spitak, which was completely destroyed and the surrounding villages. This the earthquake covered about 40% of the territory of Armenia.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake:
The earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 off the coast of Indonesia, caused a giant tsunami with an estimated magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3 points, and tsunami waves reached the coast of 14 countries, even the coast of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, which is about 7 thousand kilometers from the epicenter. The number of victims of the earthquake ranged from 225,000 to 300,000 people. The exact number of dead is not known, because a large number of them were washed into the ocean.
Earthquake in Haiti in 2010:
This earthquake, which occurred on January 12, 2010 in Haiti, claimed the lives of 220,000 people. In the first hours after the disaster, large-scale destruction was inflicted on the capital of the country, the city of Port-au-Prince. The aftershocks of this devastating earthquake, described as the strongest in 200 years, have intensified.
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria in 2023:
This earthquake occurred in Turkey and Syria and was the result of two consecutive strong earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, nine hours apart. The epicenter of the first earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale was in the Shehitkamel region of Gaziantep, Turkey, while the epicenter of the second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale was in the Ekinoso region. Kahramanmaras in Turkey. More than a thousand strong aftershocks were recorded after the earthquakes. This latest natural disaster has resulted in more than 35,000 people in Turkey and about 8,500 in Syria.
Source: RT