Syria Earthquake

On Monday two very large scale earthquakes hit the bordering area between Turkey and Syria with a magnitude of up to 7.7 to 7.8 on the Richter scale.

Let’s go into detail about how this happened on a scientific level. Earth’s crust is made of large areas of rock called tectonic plates which, when they meet and rub together, can create a reaction known as an earthquake due to the amount of pressure that comes from the movement. The intensity of the earthquake is directly related to how “shallow” the earthquake is, meaning how close it is to the Earth’s surface. Seeing as this earthquake was high on the richter scale, we can reasonably assume it was shallow.

As of now, the combined death toll is over 16,000 people. This is shocking as many say the death toll is expected to more than double. Dr. Hans Kluge told the BBC radio that "only 22% of people trapped in rubble survive for 72 hours after an earthquake, and the percentage falls rapidly from then on. Every minute counts now because the window to save lives is fast running out. Everyone is working flat out to find and rescue any survivors. The death toll is likely to go much higher."

What we really need to talk about though, is the lack of response. In the same BBC article it was mentioned that retired Major General Sir Tim Cross told Sky News: “The sadness of the slow response… You need people on the ground allocating resources, understanding what is needed. You need to clear the roads to get in and out of these areas.”

Let’s try to do as much as we can to spread awareness and if possible physically help.