Back-to-Back Earthquakes Hit Turkey, Syria

An earthquake hit near the town of Pazarcik in southern Turkey this morning. The 7.8-magnitude temblor impacted both Turkey and Syria. The quake was also detected in Lebanon and Cyprus.

Millions impacted: The quake especially impacted Gaziantep, a Turkish city of over 2 million people. “The house shook like a baby’s cradle,” a resident told the Wall Street Journal. “It was like a nightmare. I woke up the kids. I told them to stay calm. We left the building.”

Meanwhile, Syria has declared a state of emergency. The northern region impacted houses millions of people who have been displaced as refugees because of Syria’s civil war.

Round 2: The Pazarcik earthquake was followed by an earthquake near Ekinozu in central Turkey. This quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The two quakes have killed more than 1,300 people; well over 900 were killed in Turkey alone.

Why earthquakes? The Middle East, with its continuous wars, famines and rule by brutal regimes, has enough problems to grapple with. And circumstances have deteriorated from bad to worse with the earthquakes. Many wonder why such disasters occur. The Bible reveals that God has control over the weather (Nahum 1:3-5). These kinds of disasters are not haphazard, but God doesn’t allow them out of malice or apathy toward mankind. There is ultimately a good purpose behind weather catastrophes. To learn more, read Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?