The February 6 earthquake, the disaster of the century, on the 3rd anniversary...

Three years have passed since the earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 and were described as the "disaster of the century". The earthquake killed 53,537 people and injured more than 107,000 people.

AZpress.AZ reminds, on the morning of February 6, 2023, at 4:17 a.m., a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in Kahramanmaras, and millions of people were injured while they were asleep. Thousands of houses were destroyed, tens of thousands of people were buried under the rubble. A few hours later, at 1:24 p.m., another 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred. Two consecutive earthquakes became the disaster of the century and affected 11 provinces. Three years after the disaster, the pain is still in our hearts...

Earthquakes with their epicenters in the Pazarcik and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş have caused widespread destruction and tens of thousands of deaths in a total of 11 years, including Kilis, Diyarbakir, Adana, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Malatya, Hatay and Elazig.

The earthquakes described as the "disaster of the century" were widely covered in the world press. Scientists called the occurrence of such strong earthquakes in such a short period of time "surprising" and "rare". In a report analyzing the earthquakes in the newspaper "The Washington Post" published in the United States, it was reported that the shaking was equal to the power of 32 atomic bombs. Orhan Tatar, Director General of the Earthquake Risk and Mitigation Department of the Presidency of Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD), said that "The energy emitted by two earthquakes is equivalent to the energy of 500 atomic bombs".

The terrible scale of the disaster became clearer every day. Photos from the area clearly showed the suffering.

In the earthquake that affected approximately 13.5 million people, tens of thousands of people lost their loved ones, cities, homes and memories under the rubble. In a region where almost every family has lost their lives, the grief in the cemeteries broke the hearts of all of Turkey.

Azerbaijan did not remain indifferent to the disaster. Immediately after the devastating earthquake, official Baku and our people were among the parties that showed the greatest support to our brother country. More than 900 rescue and medical workers were dispatched, hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid were delivered, and a total of $100 million was allocated for reconstruction efforts.

Azerbaijani people voluntarily collected aid for the disaster area and actively participated in blood donation campaigns. Our people sent various clothes, food, bedding, heaters and other products to the brotherly country.

Furthermore, on June 19, 2025, the opening ceremony of the Azerbaijan Quarter built by our country was held in Kahramanmaras with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev said that the construction of Azerbaijan Quarter is a wonderful event, he noted that more than 90 buildings have been built there and 1200 apartments will be inhabited by our Turkish brothers.