Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Timeline of the world's most devastating earthquakes since 2000

Turkey-Syria Earthquake: On Monday, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Turkey and Syria, killing more than 4,400 people. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers are still searching for people stuck in the debris. An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s lithosphere that creates seismic waves.Turkey and Syria border was struck by two powerful earthquakes within a span of 12 hours. The first quake was measured at 7.8 magnitudes, tremors of which were felt as far away as Cyprus and Cairo.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSV) said preliminary data showed the second larger quake was measured at 7.7 magnitudes and was 42 miles (67 km) north-east of Kahramanmaras, Turkey, at a depth of 2000 metres.

Here is a list of some of the world’s scariest earthquakes took place around the world since 2000:

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June 22, 2022: In Afghanistan, more than 1,100 people died due to a magnitude 6.1 earthquake. The most affected provinces were Paktika, Khost and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was felt over 310 miles (500 km) away by at least 119 million people, including parts of India and Iran.

August 14, 2021: In Haiti, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake killedmore than 2,200 people. The epicentre was near the town of Leogane, Ouest department, which is approximately 16 miles (25 km) west of Haiti’s capital. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded.

September 28, 2018: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hitIndonesia, killing more than 4,300 people. The earthquake struck in the neck of the Minahasa Peninsula, Indonesia, with its epicentre located in the mountainous Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi.

August 24, 2016: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake in central Italy killedmore than 300 people. Its epicentre was close to Accumoli, with its hypocentre at a depth of 4 ± 1 km, approximately 47 miles (75 km) southeast of Perugia and 45 km (28 mi) north of L'Aquila, in an area near the borders of the Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and Marche regions.

April 25, 2015: In Nepal, more than 8,800 people are killed by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. It occurred at 11:56 Nepal Standard Time on Saturday, 25 April 2015. Its epicentre was east of Gorkha District at Barpak, Gorkha, roughly 53 miles (85 km)northwest of central Kathmandu, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 8.2 km (5.1 mi).

The ground motion recorded in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, was of low frequency, which, along with its occurrence at an hour when many people in rural areas were working outdoors, decreased the loss of property and human lives.

August 3, 2014: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Wenping, China, killedmore than 700 people. Over 12,000 houses collapsed and 30,000 were damaged. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred 18 miles (29 km)WSW of Zhaotong city at 16:03 local time

September 24, 2013: A magnitude 7.7 quake strikes southwest Pakistan, killing more than 800 people. The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake took place on Tuesday 24 September 2013 at 11:29:48 UTC. The depth was reported to be 9.3 miles (15 km). The earthquake reportedly lasted about a minute, causing panic in cities of southern Pakistan such as Karachi and Hyderabad.

March 11, 2011: A magnitude 9.0 quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggereda tsunami, killing more than 20,000 people. The epicentre was located some 80 miles (130 km) east of the city of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, and the focus occurred at a depth of 18.6 miles (about 30 km) below the floor of the western Pacific Ocean.

January 26, 2001: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the Bhuj in Gujarat, India at 8:46 am IST. The epicentre of the quake was about 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of the village of Chobari in the Kutch District of Bhuj. The earthquake killed 13,805 to 20,023 people, injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 340,000 buildings.

As soon as the news of the earthquakes at the Turkey-Syria border broke out, global communities rush over to send aid and relief operations to affected areas.