Earthquake Case Study: Türkiye-Syria (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography) : Revision Note

Background

• Türkiye and Syria, though sharing a border, are at different levels of development.

• Türkiye:

  • is a middle-income country (MIC)

  • has a reasonably well-developed infrastructure

  • has trained and equipped emergency services

• Syria:

  • is a low-income country (LIC)

  • is in the midst of a continuing civil war

  • has a severely damaged infrastructure and economy

  • has limited ability to respond to a disaster

Causes of the Türkiye-Syria earthquake

• The 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake happened due to movement along the East Anatolian Fault

• This is an example of a transform boundary

  • Arabian Plate moves north, pushing the small Anatolian Plate westward

AWAITING IMAGE

of plate boundary

• Built-up pressure was released in a magnitude 7.8 earthquake

• The earthquake occurred in the early hours of the morning on February 6, 2023

• The shallow depth meant more intense shaking and destruction

• A magnitude 7.5 aftershock followed nine hours later

  • This increased the damage

  • Many additional buildings damaged in the first earthquake collapsed

• The region hadn’t experienced a major earthquake since 1822, meaning accumulated pressure that had built up was high

Impacts of the Türkiye-Syria earthquake

Primary Impacts

• Widespread destruction in Türkiye and Syria

• Over 35,000 deaths were reported in the first week, later rising to over 56,000

• In Türkiye, over 100,000 people were injured

• Millions of people were left homeless due to collapsed buildings

  • In Türkiye, the cities of Antakya, Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş suffered severe damage

    • Over 300,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed across Türkiye

    • An estimated 1.5 million people were made homeless

  • In Syria, the towns of Aleppo and Idlib were most affected

    • An estimated 10,600 buildings were destroyed in Syria (there is no exact figure due to the ongoing conflict)

    • Approximately 2 million people end up living in camps and shelters due as a result of the earthquake and conflict

• Damage to infrastructure, including roads, hospitals, and electricity networks

• The estimated economic loss was between $50 and $85 billion

Secondary Impacts

• Fires caused by broken gas pipes and electrical faults

• Landslides triggered by the quake

• Food and water shortages due to damaged supply chains

  • Food prices increased in some cases by over 20%

• Increased spread of disease in makeshift camps

  • By June 2023, over 40,000 cases of cholera had been recorded in Syria

• Respiratory infections increased due to the conditions people were living in

• Many hospital buildings and health centres had collapsed, meaning treating survivors was difficult

• Harsh winter conditions worsened survival chances for trapped victims

• Rescue efforts in Syria were slowed by ongoing civil war and damaged infrastructure

• Approximately 18 million people needed assistance

Responses to the Türkiye-Syria earthquake

Immediate Responses

• Local people searched for survivors

• Approximately 250,000 volunteers from Türkiye joined rescue efforts

  • Specialised equipment and sniffer dogs were used in Türkiye to locate survivors buried in the rubble

• International rescue teams and aid arrived after a few days

  • The UN appeal aimed to help over 10 million people in Türkiye and Syria

• Shelter, food, and medical supplies were provided

• Access to affected areas in Syria was difficult due to the ongoing conflict

• In Türkiye, Hatay's airport was badly damaged, which affected aid getting to the area

• The last survivors were pulled from the rubble nine days after the earthquake

Long-Term Responses

• Reconstruction efforts were planned but delayed by the scale of damage

• Improving building standards to reduce future risks in Türkiye

• Financial aid and international support were pledged for rebuilding

• Psychological and medical support for survivors

Strategies to reduce the impacts of earthquakes in Türkiye-Syria

• Stricter building regulations were implemented to prevent future collapses

  • The government in Türkiye were criticised due to the failure to enforce stricter building codes after the 1999 Izmit earthquake

• Education on earthquake preparedness to increase survival chances

• Financing of $1 billion from the World Bank to support Türkiye's recovery

• Development of early warning systems to give people time to react

• Strengthening infrastructure (e.g. roads, hospitals) to withstand tremors

• More efficient disaster response plans for faster aid delivery

• International cooperation for disaster relief in conflict-affected areas like Syria