The Syria-Turkey Earthquake

On Monday, February 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the nations of Syria and Turkey, leaving over 12,000 dead. This grave loss is only climbing as rescue teams desperately search for survivors. Tens of thousands of injured survivors were reported, and the number just keeps growing.

The problem is that the freezing temperatures are impeding the rescue teams from 70 countries and 14 organizations sent to Turkey. But getting help to Turkey is easier than Syria, which is in a civil war. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria wants all help sent to the capital, Damascus. Aid can only be sent through one route that isn’t part of the Turkish-controlled areas. Some of these areas are the ones most affected by the quake and need the most help.

As I mentioned before, the temperatures and storms are hindering the rescue teams. The rubble isn’t helping either. Some, like the Demir sisters, have spent days stuck under rubble. These two were trapped under a concrete slab of a collapsed building. They spent 62 hours underneath the rubble until a rescue team arrived.

Irregularly low temperatures are stopping rescue teams from doing the work they need to. “Our hands cannot pick up anything because of the cold,” a journalist reported. Despite it being many days after the quake, the searches continue. While it’s statistically improbable for the people still lost under the rubble to be able to survive this long, hope triumphs. The rescue teams sift through the huge amounts of rubble, trying to find anyone who could still be out there.

Tens of millions were affected by this travesty, whether it be the injured, dead, or ones who lost their homes. This region is along a fault line, which makes it prone to earthquakes, though not of this sheer magnitude. There are only usually 10-15 a year of 7.0-7.9 magnitude.

The death count only grows higher, making this one of the worst earthquakes in a decade. The count of total deaths from earthquakes in 2022 was 15,438, so this earthquake alone could surpass that. As the rescue teams continue to search, they rescue those close to death. We thank the countries and organizations who sent help to the countries in need.

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LUKE FANN

Editor at The City Voice

Hello, my name is Luke Fann. I love to read and write myself into a fantastical realm, but I love all genres. Of course, such a task requires assistance from my parents and older brother. I've feasted on alligators and tamed beasts like alpacas (my favorite animal), but none of that compares to my greatest weapon: a pencil. I am an editor here for the City Voice, and this is my second year writing for it.