Two severe earthquakes that happened a few hours apart caused thousands of casualties and injuries in Turkey. The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes affected 10 cities in the country, resulting in the collapse of buildings. NASA revealed the earthquake damage in the country’s southern region.
Data collected from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 also known as ALOS-2 indicates the extent of the catastrophe in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras and its district Turkoglu as well as Gaziantep’s Nurdagi. The harrowing quakes also struck western Syria.
Earthquake damage in satellite images of Turkey
“Dark red pixels represent areas likely to have severe damage to buildings, homes, and infrastructure or changes to the landscape, while orange and yellow areas are moderately or partially damaged,” explained NASA. Each pixel corresponds to about 30 meters across. To envision, it is about the size of a baseball field.
The earthquakes were very powerful that concluded in long series of fault segments, said NASA geophysicist Eric Fielding. “This generated extremely strong shaking over a very large area that hit many cities and towns full of people.”
Credit: NASA
He reminded another earthquake that took place years ago and paralyzed the United States, saying: “The rupture length and magnitude of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake was similar to the 1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco.”
In addition to NASA, space technology companies Maxar Technologies and Airbus Space shared before-and-after images obtained from satellites showing the total devastation.
New satellite images from today, February 8, of areas in #Antakya, #Turkey that have been heavily affected by the recent #earthquake. Damage can be seen throughout the area, particularly with numerous high-rise apartments buildings that have collapsed. pic.twitter.com/zhK9WnJYtS
— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) February 8, 2023
High-resolution images over quake-hit area
In Airbus Space’s high-resolution images over Osmaniye, the impact of one of the worst natural disasters in the world can clearly be seen. The images in question have been provided to the rescue teams and local authorities for relief efforts, according to the company.
Meanwhile, NASA announced that they were monitoring the possible consequences of the earthquakes, such as landslide risks, power outages, and the weather in Turkey where harsh winter conditions have recently been faced.
High resolution satellite view over Osmaniye after the recent earthquake in Türkiye and Syria.
This image has been provided to the rescue teams and local authorities for relief efforts.
Our thoughts are with those who have been affected.
🛰 #PléiadesNeo pic.twitter.com/Sb04pmajtT— Airbus Space (@AirbusSpace) February 7, 2023
