On 6 February 2023, a catastrophic and destructive Mw 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey, as well as northern and western Syria.[2][3] It occurred 34 km (21 mi) west of the city of Gaziantep at 04:17 AM TRT (01:17 UTC), with a Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). A Mw 7.7 earthquake occurred nine hours later,[4] centered 95 km (59 mi) to the north–northeast in Kahramanmaraş Province.[4] There was widespread damage and tens of thousands of fatalities. The mainshock is the strongest earthquake in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake,[5] of the same magnitude, together with which it is the second strongest in the history of the country after the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake.[6] The earthquake is the deadliest in Turkey since the 1268 Cilicia earthquake, and in Syria since the 1822 Aleppo earthquake.[7] It is one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the Levant and the deadliest earthquake worldwide since the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[8][9] It was felt as far as Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Black Sea coast of Turkey