Celebs React to Devastating Turkey Earthquake, Twitch Streamer raises $1 Million for Relief

[enlightenight]

Celebrities including F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, EGOT winner Viola Davis and many more reacted to devastating earthquake that happened in Southeast Turkey on Feb 6, 2023.

(edit: William & Kate of the British Royal Family also supported a campaign in the UK that aims to provide relief to the region. More celebs added.)

Twin earthquakes happened

Comments

[deerlike]

20,000 people dead, my god...

I know earthquakes are caused by tectonic activity, but doesn't it seem like their severity (or at least the severity of their consequences) has been increasing over the past two decades?

Edited to add a link to an article I found that suggests that climate change may increase the risk of tremors. Mind you, I don't know the reliability of the newsource, but it's written by a Kurdish professor of environmental philosophy.

[ohhhmydarling]

I think it's generally pretty hard to tell whether earthquake activity has increased. I live in Southern California and spent a good chunk of my 20's with a severe fear of them. In that time, it seemed we were having an increase, one right after the other. Since then (about 10 years ago, now), I've noticed a steady decrease in my area. There has always been debates about whether "earthquake weather" or "season" is a thing. Most professionals say no, but some locals swear by it. It really seems to be a contentious subject.

ETA: I am also constantly surprised by the lack of knowledge most people have about them. They are rare and very regional, so I guess that makes sense, but some of the beliefs people hold about earthquakes are wild.

[jojito]

It very well could be, but the tectonic plates are constantly moving regardless of climate. So big earthquakes are expected from time to time in certain places. In my country we are told to expect a big one (magnitude > 8) every ten years or so. The last big one was in 2015.

This one was particularly devastating because Syria and Turkey don't have an infrastructure that's designed for this and apparently the epicenter was very shallow so the movement on the surface was much stronger, causing even more damage.

[marwari_mettle]

I think that tracks. I remember there was a news special on how climate change was increasing the chance for volcanic activity as well as earthquakes. The surface of the earth can be very sensitive. Like drilling of natural gas has destabilized the crust in some areas of the US and caused earthquakes

[ty]

Fracking is causing earthquakes where there did not used to be any

[blazingeternity]

Climate change and industrialization/civilization surely add to the risks, but overall, tectonic activity tends to come in phases and has brought such severe earthquakes before over the course of history. However, I agree with you that the severity of their consequences is increasing... I believe simply because of the amount of people that inhabit earthquake-prone areas nowadays, because of the density of development in urban areas, the artificially changed landscapes, man-made erosion et cetera, and of course because of the poverty and conflict in many of those areas. I'm currently working on a paper on natural disasters in a specific area & context, and it's been quite chilling to compare how disasters of the same strength in the same area had very different outcomes a couple of hundred years ago compared to now (spoiler: it got worse) - and how the effects are worse the poorer and more predisposed the people in hit areas are. :(

[ty]

The earth's core is warming.

[elevatorshaker]

No it isn't. Unless you mean it's warming as in makes other things warm.

[chapter013]

My immediate thought was fracking. Idk where all that's done but I remember reading that fracking is causing Earthquakes to happen more often and tbh I wouldn't be surprised if it were making the earthquakes worse too.

The human-caused destruction of this planet goes so, so, so deep. :(