Was Ankara, Turkey Affected by the Deadly Earthquake?

On February 6, 2023, a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. The epicenter was located about 25 miles east of the city of Nurdağı in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, at a depth of about 11 miles. This was followed by hundreds of aftershocks including a 7.5 magnitude tremor just 9 hours after the initial quake.

The earthquake affected a large area spanning several major cities in Turkey, including Gaziantep, Şanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, and Malatya. Over 41,000 people were killed in Turkey alone, with thousands more deaths reported in Syria Entire neighborhoods were reduced to rubble as buildings collapsed from the violent shaking

What about Ankara?

Turkey’s capital city, Ankara, is located about 230 miles northwest of the earthquake’s epicenter Given this significant distance, Ankara did not experience the same level of intense ground shaking as cities closer to the quake

Initial reports indicate that Ankara was spared major damage. Some buildings swayed and people ran into the streets during the earthquake, but there have been no reports of collapsed structures or casualties within the city.

Ankara’s location on the Anatolian Plate, far from the boundary with the Arabian Plate where the quake originated, helped buffer it from the seismic waves. The soil conditions around Ankara are also more stable compared to the area of the epicenter. These geographic factors limited the impacts on the capital.

Limited Damage in Ankara

While not directly in the disaster zone, Ankara did feel the earthquake. Tremors from the massive 7.8 quake were felt across central, eastern, and southeastern Turkey. Ankara shook for nearly one minute as seismic energy radiated outward from the fault rupture near Gaziantep.

Some damage was reported in Ankara and its surroundings:

• Cracks formed in walls and foundations of buildings.
• Broken windows and fallen objects inside homes and stores.
• Products tumbled from shelves in supermarkets.
• Minor infrastructure damage like cracks and fallen retaining walls.

Overall though, effects were moderate and not catastrophic. No buildings collapsed in Ankara and there were no reports of any casualties. The most serious impacts were limited to the provinces nearer the epicenter.

Ankara Mobilizes Disaster Response

As Turkey’s seat of government, Ankara has served as a major staging ground for the nationwide disaster response. Although not severely affected itself, the city has aided recovery efforts.

Key disaster response activities based in Ankara:

• Government emergency management operations coordinated through AFAD, Turkey’s disaster agency.
• Dispatch of military personnel and aid convoys to the earthquake zone.
• Airlift of vital supplies through Esenboğa International Airport.
• Treatment of injured people evacuated to hospitals in the capital.
• Sheltering of survivors displaced from damaged areas.
• Mobilization of Turkish Red Crescent relief teams.

The Turkish Parliament building in Ankara also suffered no major damage, enabling the government functions crucial for overseeing quake response.

The Importance of Building Codes

The fact that Ankara avoided significant effects from this powerful earthquake highlights the benefits of strong building codes and their enforcement.

As Turkey’s administrative and industrial hub, Ankara has a high concentration of modern buildings constructed to comply with the country’s current seismic standards. This protected the city, unlike older building stock in the south and east which collapsed.

Adherence to building codes will be a key factor in reconstruction efforts in the affected regions. Rebuilding to modern earthquake-resistant designs can mitigate future seismic risks. Ankara provides an example of the damage prevented through proper engineering.

In conclusion, although Ankara certainly felt the earthquake’s tremors, its distance from the epicenter and adherence to earthquake codes spared it from the full brunt of the disaster. The capital’s role now will be supporting the recovery further south as Turkey moves forward after this catastrophic event.