QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey at dawn on Monday, though disastrous, is not the first of its kind. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake has left hundreds of deaths and injuries added to mass destruction in buildings.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is likely that nearly 23 million people were affected by the earthquake.
Geologists say the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on February is not out of the ordinary. The region has famously been the epicenter for deadly quakes throughout history.
The Strongest in 28 Years
The Syrian government-run SANA news agency quoted the director of the National Earthquake Center, Raed Ahmad, saying, “This earthquake is the strongest over the investment lifetime of the national seismic monitoring network, which began in 1995, noting that the state of seismic instability will continue, but will be weaker and limited to five degrees.”
Ahmad stressed that the damages caused to buildings is related to their structure and their resistance to earthquakes, stressing the necessity of strengthening buildings that are about to collapse, SANA reported.
On Tuesday, Syria’s Health Ministry stated that there were 812 deaths and 1.449 injuries left by the earthquake in the governorates of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Tartus and the countryside of Idlib. These figures are subject to change and will likely be revised upwards, as the search for survivors straggles on.
Idlib’s Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets and is affiliated with the Syrian opposition, said the toll has surpassed 810 deaths and 2.200 injuries. The real figures are likely much higher, as hundreds of families are still trapped under the debris, it said.
For its part, the Health Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Monday that six people had lost their lives and 44 others were injured in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo, and seven had been injured in the Shahba region, north of Aleppo. Four injuries were reported in Kobani and two others in Manbij.
Twice in Aleppo
From the 12th century up to recently, Turkey and Syria have been the scene to more than 20 disastrous earthquakes with an estimated magnitude of 7.0 or more, according to geologists.
In October 1138, one of the deadliest earthquakes in history hit Aleppo with a magnitude of 8.5. It killed at least 230.000 people and is ranked by the United States Geological Survey as the fourth most calamitous, following the Shaanxi earthquake in 1556, the 2004 tsunami, and the Tangshan earthquake of 1976.
In the night of August 13, 1822, Aleppo was hit by a second deadly earthquake, whose magnitude reached 7.0. The earthquake lasted only 10- 12 seconds, but claimed at least 30.000 lives, and injured around 100.000 people. The cities of Manbij and Afrin were reportedly destroyed by the earthquake.
Hama
In August 1157, an earthquake hit the vicinity of Hama, central Syria. About 10.000 people reportedly died in the earthquake. A large number of buildings and houses were destroyed.
Historian Dr. Omar Tadmori says the powerful earthquake hit the County of Tripoli, which was under the control of the Crusaders leader Raymond II, Count of Tripoli. Tadmori says the vast majority of the people of Tripoli died and many of its buildings were destroyed.
Damascus
On November 24, 847, Damascus was hit by a powerful earthquake. Studies have later revealed that it was one in a chain of earthquakes that extended from Antioch in the north, Damascus in the west, up to Mosul in the far east.
About 20.000 people were said to have died in Antioch and 50.000 in Mosul. Figures for Damascus were not reported. Geologists have deemed it the strongest to have ever hit the Dead Sea Transform (fault line).
Historian Ibn Budayr says Damascus was hit by a series of earthquakes that left thousands dead, not to mention the damage caused to buildings.