With the dawn of last Monday, February 6, 2023, a devastating earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, with a magnitude of 7.7 on the Richter scale, followed by another hours later with a magnitude of 7.6, as well as hundreds of violent aftershocks, which left great losses in lives and property in the two countries.
And with the death toll exceeding 22,000 today and tens of thousands of injured, and it is still rising hour after hour, the French Press Agency says that the earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria is ranked among the 10 deadliest earthquakes in the 21st century.
Turkey witnessed a devastating earthquake in August 1999 at the end of the twentieth century, which claimed the lives of 17,400 people.
The following is a list of the most devastating earthquakes of the current century:
2004: 230,000 dead in Southeast Asia
On December 26, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia caused a massive tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people on the coasts of about 10 Southeast Asian countries, including 170,000 in Indonesia alone.
The high waves, which reached speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour, sometimes reached 30 metres.
2010: 200,000 dead in Haiti
On January 12, a magnitude 7 earthquake killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti and displaced 1.5 million people, reducing the capital, Port-au-Prince, to rubble.
2008: 87,000 dead in Sichuan, China
On May 12, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake killed more than 87,000 people and injured 4.45 million, wreaking havoc in large areas of southwest China's Sichuan province.
Among the victims are thousands of students who died in the collapse of schools.
2005: 73,000 dead in Kashmir
On the eighth of October, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake caused more than 73,000 deaths and the displacement of 3.5 million, especially in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.
The earthquake destroyed almost all medical facilities.
2003: 31,000 dead in Bam, Iran
On December 26, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing more than 31,000 people, representing more than a quarter of Bam's population.
Massive destruction also occurred in this historic city.
In the aftermath, a cholera epidemic spread in the country, starting in October of the same year, after the infection was transmitted by international soldiers from Nepal who came after the earthquake.
More than 10,000 people died in this epidemic outbreak until January 2019.
2023: More than 22,000 dead in Turkey and Syria so far
On February 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck northern Turkey and neighboring southern Syria, followed by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock.
As of Friday, the number of victims exceeded 22,000.
2001: 20 thousand dead in India
On January 26, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the western Indian state of Gujarat, killing more than 20,000 people, as well as destroying the city of Bhuj.
2011: 18,500 dead in Japan
On March 11, Japan was rocked by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake.
Less than an hour later, a huge wave of more than 20 meters high hit some places on the coast of the Tohoku region in the northeast of the country, killing all forms of life.
The waters flooded the Fukushima nuclear plant, whose three reactor cores melted, causing the worst civilian nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986. The disaster resulted in 18,500 dead and missing, and forced more than 165,000 people to leave Fukushima County due to radiation.
2015: 9,000 dead in Nepal
On April 25, about 9,000 people died in a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in central Nepal.
The capital, Kathmandu, and the areas around the epicenter were severely damaged.
2006: 6 thousand dead on the island of Java
On May 26, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake killed nearly 6,000 people on the Indonesian island of Java.
The earthquake also injured about 38,000 people and displaced more than 420,000 others.