A depiction of an earthquake in a 14th-century Apocalypse.
British Library
We might expect that accounts of earthquakes from the medieval period have been lost to history, but some have survived.
Cleanup of the wreckage of a collapsed building in Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Voice of America, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The Turkish government was well aware of earthquake-resilient construction techniques.
People warm themselves at a fire in front of buildings destroyed by the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
Petros Giannakouris/AP/AAP
The focus of efforts to save the lives of earthquake victims needs to shift to the emerging threats from disease and lack of clean water and shelter.
Worst-hit areas in Turkey were reduced to rubble.
Erhan Sevenler/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Turkey has repeatedly attempted to improve its earthquake preparedness. So what went wrong?
Rescue workers continue to clear rubble from collapsed buildings in Antakya, Turkey, six days after two powerful earthquakes caused scores of buildings to collapse.
(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The devastating outcomes of earthquakes is worsened when buildings cannot withstand the impact. Also, increased urban density and new construction materials are complicating search-and-rescue efforts.
EPA-EFE/Abir Sultan
A cholera outbreak, a harsh winter, ten years of civil war and obstruction from the Syrian government are some of the difficulties faced by aid agencies.
The remains of the village of Besnaya in Syria, February 7, 2023.
Omar Hadj Kaddour/AFP
In a domino effect, earthquakes can cause others to strike: replicas, but also more distant ones.
Devastation: the town of Kahramanmaras in southeastern Turkey on February 8.
EPA-EFE/Abir Sultan
Rescuers are at risk from aftershocks and collapsing buildings, but scientists are working on systems that will minimise ths danger.
Rescuers work at a collapsed building in southeastern Turkey.
AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili
Twitter was blocked in Turkey for about 12 hours at the height of rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of a massive earthquake, severely hampering a vital tool for disaster response.
The search and rescue operation for survivors in Hatay, Turkey.
Erdem Sahin/EPA
The window of survival after an earthquake is narrow and there are three top priorities for aid workers.
EPA-EFE/Erdem Sahin
An earthquake expert explains why the death and devastation have been so terrible in Turkey and Syria
EPA-EFE/Refik Tekin
Disasters such as the earthquake affecting Turkey and Syria are always worse when there is bad blood between the countries involved.
Mustafa Karali / AP
When Monday’s earthquake struck, many poorly constructed buildings suffered a ‘pancake mode’ collapse.
People search for survivors beneath the rubble in Diyarbakir, Turkey. February 6 2023.
EPA-EFE/Refik Tekin
At least 1,700 people are thought to have died.
Syrian civil defence workers clear an earthquake victim in Zardana, Idlib province, on 6 February.
Abdulazis Ketaz/AFP
Using space imagery can help guide relief efforts to critical areas during a natural disaster.
Young people play football on a street in Goma, eastern DRC.
Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images
Football provides a way for unpopular elites to build political capital – but also creates space for citizens to voice dissent.
Welfare services are essential for a healthy economy and productive population.
(Shutterstock)
Amid further strain on public funding, we ask: What’s the future of the welfare state in developed and developing nations?
Many people in Turkey believe in a conspiracy theory about the 1923 Lausanne treaty.
Michael Harris/Alamy
Around 43% of university graduates in Turkey believe a conspiracy theory that secret clauses are about to be revealed from a 100-year-old treaty.
A Turkish barbers’ shop in Berlin, where there’s a large Turkish community.
Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy
Four-fifths of the first-generation Turkish men who came to Europe as guest-workers and ended up settling there lived below an income poverty line.
Votes aplenty in 2023.
smartboy10 via Getty Images
Zimbabwe, Turkey, Argentina, Pakistan and Nigeria all have presidential or general elections in 2023.