Antakya’s Earthquake scars

A series of earthquakes hit regions along the East Anatolian Fault in February 2023, leaving more than 53,000 dead in Turkey and between 5,000 and 8,000 in Syria, as well as millions displaced. The first earthquake struck on February and was measured at 7.8, the strongest on record since 1939 in the country, and only surpassed in intensity by the 1688 North Anatolia Earthquake. A total of 14 million people were affected, or 16% of the country’s population.

Antakya’s near total destruction

Turkey’s Hatay province was the hardest hit area, including its capital Antakya, home to 400,000 inhabitants. Whole swathes of the city have been destroyed, and the rubble slowly moved out, so that the extent of the damage is only now clearly visible from space almost 18 months after the disaster. Thousands of buildings have been flattened, as well as many edifices of important historic value, especially mosques and churches.

The challenges of rebuilding Antakya

Face with an unprecedented emergency situation, Turkish authorities had pledged to rebuild more than 300,000 homes, while relocating survivors in container cities. New housing is still falling short of the government’s promise however, and a new source for concern has emerged: uncontrolled dumping of rubble from tens of thousands of dismantled buildings. This is feared to cause soil, water and air pollution in several areas around Antakya, which is already affecting the quantity and quality of local farmers’ production.