A 7.8-magnitude quake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria on 6 February 2023, killing more than 40,000 people and erasing entire cities. Then and now photographs show the scale of devastation and the enormity of the reconstruction.

Over 65 nightmarish seconds of the pre-dawn hours of 6 February 2023, the ground swallowed large areas of entire cities across south-east Turkey resulting in more than 50,000 deaths.

Bridges collapsed, roads and airport tarmacs cracked and millions of lives across 11 Turkish provinces were upturned by the time the rest of the country woke up, stunned. The initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the ground as far away as Egypt. A year later, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, many living in container cities, while the rest of the quake-prone country waits in fear for the next big shake.

More than 850,000 buildings crumbled in the initial quake and the thousands of aftershocks that followed, including one of 7.5-magnitude that afternoon.

In the Syrian border province of Hatay, where the ancient city of Antioch—now called Antakya—formed the cradle of Muslim and Christian civilisations, only 250,000 of the original 1.7 million inhabitants remain.

The disaster put enormous political pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who faced re-election that year. Responding to criticism that rescuers were too slow to react, leaving many initial survivors trapped under rubble in the freezing cold, the veteran leader promised to build 650,000 housing units within a year.

Eleven months later, the construction of 307,000 housing units has been launched, of which 46,000 have been delivered, according to environment and urbanisation ministry data. In the meantime, families that chose to stay in the disaster zone and were unable to find accommodation have been housed in metal container homes the size of small studios. The containers have access to free running water and power, offering safety and warmth, but families have few surviving possessions and their immediate prospects are unclear.

A powerful earthquake with a ___________ of 7.8 struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6th, 2023. The quake caused widespread destruction, killing over 40,000 people and obliterating entire cities. The aftermath of the disaster was captured in before and after photographs, revealing the extensive damage and the immense task of ___________.

During the terrifying 65 seconds before dawn on that fateful day, large sections of cities in southeast Turkey were ___________ by the ground, resulting in a death toll exceeding 50,000. Bridges ___________, roads and airport runways cracked, and millions of lives in 11 Turkish provinces were thrown into chaos as the rest of the country awoke to the horrifying reality. The initial earthquake, which was felt as far ___________ as Egypt, was followed by thousands of ___________, including one with a magnitude of 7.5 later that day.

Over 850,000 buildings were reduced to ___________ in the initial quake and its aftershocks. In the Syrian border province of Hatay, where the ancient city of Antioch (now known as Antakya) once stood as a ___________ of Muslim and Christian civilizations, only 250,000 of the original 1.7 million residents ___________.

The disaster posed a significant political challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who faced re-election that year. Criticized for the slow response of ____________, which left many initial survivors ____________ beneath rubble in freezing temperatures, the seasoned leader pledged to construct 650,000 housing units within a year.

Eleven months after the disaster, the construction of 307,000 housing units has commenced, with 46,000 already ____________, according to data from the environment and urbanization ministry. In the ____________, families who chose to stay in the disaster zone and were unable to secure alternative accommodation have been provided with metal container ____________, similar in size to small studios. These containers have access to running water and electricity, offering a safe and warm environment. However, families have few remaining ____________, and their immediate future remains uncertain.

A group of students at Tongji University made a power box to aid relief work in quake-hit areas of Turkiye, which would be sent to Turkiye by air.

Two earthquakes, measuring 7.8 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck nine hours apart in southeastern Turkiye and northern Syria on Feb 6. Scores of strong aftershocks added to the damage as more than 6,000 buildings collapsed. The death toll has climbed past 30,000, and millions have been made homeless.

After learning that the earthquake-stricken area urgently needed mobile power, the students thought they might design a power box to aid the post-quake rescue and recovery work. And soon a seven-strong research and development team was set up. The team was divided into online and offline groups. Students living in Shanghai were responsible for the offline purchases and assembly of the power box. Other students online shared ideas for the design, compilation of equipment instructions and user manuals (用户手册) in Chinese and English, and were responsible for communication with the Turkish contact person for donations.

Though portable power boxes are available on the market, their design is tailor-made as the students have taken into consideration local sunshine and disaster relief needs to determine the power, capacity, size and other parameters of photovoltaics (太阳能光伏参数) and batteries.

The best use of the power box, which weighs around 15 kilograms and is equipped with a 10-watt LED light bulb, is its ability to provide 30 to 40 straight hours of light if fully recharged. That should guarantee the power box to be a reliable light source for a whole night even if it can’t be fully charged when the sunshine is not enough in the day. Their teachers also offered advice whenever the team encountered difficulties. They included a manual in Turkish, with the assistance of a student from Turkmenistan.

When the sign “humanitarian donation”was posted on the package, Bai Haoran, one of the students said,“It is worth the hard work over the past few days. We come to realize what the common community of mankind means”.

Unlike other natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes are very hard to see coming, even for scientists.    1    Thus, specific practices for earthquake preparedness are necessary. Here are four steps you can take to prepare yourself in advance.

Drop, cover and hold

If you feel the ground start to shake, drop, take cover under as table piece of furniture, and hold on. You can hide under something like a desk or table, with one arm holding on to a leg of the table and your other arm protecting your neck and head.    2    In modern homes, it is no stronger than any other part of the house and will not protect you from injury.

Make a family plan

    3    Create a meeting point—somewhere easy for everyone to remember, or you could also meet at home. Whatever plan you decide on, don’t rely on your phone as your main form of communication. Technology fails all the time in disasters. A major earthquake in California, for example, damaged cell towers and knocked out communication services for days.

Secure your furniture

Those hanging shelves above your bed could be a danger during an earthquake. People often get injured from “flying or falling objects” like furniture or glass during earthquakes. So examine your home and ask yourself, “What could be a potential danger to my safety?”    4    

Make digital copies of important documents

Important documents may get destroyed during earthquakes. Therefore, scan or take photos of your important documents, such as your license, financial records and insurance policy information.    5    This step can help ensure your documents will be available even if your computer is lost in a quake.