One Year Since the Earthquake
A year ago, on 6 February 2023, Türkiye and Syria were hit by a devastating earthquake.
It has been one year since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook Türkiye and Syria. Description from the Wikipedia page:
On 6 February 2023, at 04:17 TRT (01:17 UTC), a Mw 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. The epicenter was 37 km (23 mi) west–northwest of Gaziantep.[2] The earthquake had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme) around the epicenter and in Antakya. It was followed by a Mw 7.7 earthquake at 13:24.[3] This earthquake was centered 95 km (59 mi) north-northeast from the first. There was widespread damage and tens of thousands of fatalities.
Confirmed death toll in Türkiye is over 50,000.
Being Turkish, I have been following the events and announcements in Türkiye relating to the earthquake.
Hatay is the worst impacted city. A year after the event, many in Hatay are very angry.
There is anger towards the government. There is anger towards local authorities, including the mayor, who is a member of the main opposition party. Here is a post in English about the recent protests.
There is also 2024 Turkish local elections at the end of March. So there is obvious PR damage control, along with not-so-subtle political statements being made. Some of those statements leave me at a loss for words.