On February 6, 2023, a pair of powerful earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, leaving destruction in their wake. The latest known death toll is 50,000; more than a lakh other people were injured in 11 provinces. At least 1.5 crore people and 40 lakh buildings were affected; some 3.45 lakh apartments were destroyed.
The earthquakes weren’t entirely unexpected given Turkey’s seismic history, but scientists were startled by their unprecedented scale.
A study published on August 3 in the journal Science unearthed the intricate union of tectonic forces that led to the disaster, advancing researchers’ understanding of these quakes, their unexpected power, and what they portend for the way scientists are trying to forecast others like them.
