Preliminary Evaluation of Impact Chain and Systemic Effects of February 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes

On February 6, 2023, at 04:17 (local time), an earthquake occurred with a Mw 7.7 in Pazarcık/Kahramanmaraş which was followed by a Mw 6.8 aftershock 11 min later. About 9 h afterward, another earthquake occurred with a Mw 7.6 in Elbistan/Kahramanmaraş. On February 20, 2023, an earthquake with Mw 6.4 (at 20:04 local time) occurred in Yayladağı/Hatay. The affected area covers 11 provinces within their 14 million inhabitants. Life losses reached more than 50,000. Despite the re-adjustment of legal tools and shifting the perspective from disaster management to risk management after the Kocaeli Earthquake in 1999, due to the old building stock and mis-implementation of building codes have resulted in a massive loss in the affected area. In this study, the impact chain of the February 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes is presented according to the official records. The failures in the infrastructural systems, particularly, in the communication system, cause delays in search and rescue activities, as well as disaster logistics. The systemic effects of the February 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes are discussed with the comparison to the direct and indirect losses of those of the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake. As a preliminary assessment, the results indicated that the medium to long-term impacts of the February 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes are projected to have nationwide reflections across all sectors.