.
2023 Turkey–Syria "Kahramanmaras" earthquakes: On
6 February 2023,
two powerful earthquakes struck southern and central
Turkey. The first occurred 34 km (21 mi) west of the city of
Gaziantep at 04:20
TRT (
01:17 UTC), causing widespread damage in Turkey and
Syria. With a maximum
Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) and a magnitude of
at least Mww 7.8, the first earthquake is tied with the
1939 Erzincan earthquake as the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake to hit Turkey in modern times, while possibly being surpassed by the
1668 North Anatolia earthquake. It is also the deadliest earthquake to strike the country since the
1999 İzmit earthquake.
The earthquake was followed by numerous
aftershocks, the strongest of which had a magnitude of
Mw 6.7. The
second earthquake occurred
9 hours later, 4 km (2.5 mi) south–southeast of
Ekinözü in
Kahramanmaraş Province at 13:24
TRT (
10:24 UTC), also having a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX and a magnitude of at least
Mww 7.5. As a result of the earthquakes, more than 3,600 people were killed and more than 15,600 were injured.