Turkey Earthquakes Generated 10 Times More Rubble Than 2010 Haiti Disaster
Editor
February 26, 2023
The earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria in February generated roughly 100 million cubic meters of debris in Turkey, more than other natural disasters in recent memory, according to estimates from the U.N. Development Program (UNDP).
The recent earthquakes left 10 times as much rubble to clean up as the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. Efforts to clear the rubble are underway.
The debris, which is primarily made up of concrete, steel and other building materials, would be enough to cover about half of D.C. in one meter deep of rubble.
The volume outpaces debris from Hurricanes Katrina (76 million cubic meters of debris), Sandy (11 million) and Harvey (9 million), according to government estimates of those storms.
The sequence of high-magnitude earthquakes and the vulnerability of the structures in the affected areas contributed to the high volume, Christine Goulet, director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center, told The Washington Post. The earthquake in February was the strongest to strike Turkey since 1939.
FAQs