On 6 February 2023, a powerful earthquake struck southern and central Turkey. It occurred 34 km (21 mi) west of the city of Gaziantep at 04:17 TRT (01:17 UTC), causing widespread damage in Turkey and Syria. With a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) and a magnitude of at least Mww 7.8, the earthquake is tied with the 1939 Erzincan earthquake as the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake to hit Turkey in modern times, while possibly being surpassed by the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake. It is also the deadliest earthquake to strike the country since the 1999 İzmit earthquake.The earthquake was followed by numerous aftershocks, the strongest of which had a magnitude of Mww 7.5. The aftershock occurred 9 hours later, 4 km (2.5 mi) south–southeast of...