7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Turkey and Syria
Ask Students: Where and when did the earthquake hit? What part of the world are these countries located in? Why was the earthquake so devastating and cause such loss of life?
Summary
Swaths of southern Turkey and northern Syria are in ruins after a powerful earthquake ripped through the region. At the time of publishing this, at least 30,000 are dead, thousands more injured and tens of thousands are homeless. The pre-dawn quake hit with a 7.8 magnitude and shook buildings as far away as Israel. Stop the video at 3m:44s for the sake of time.
For a transcript of this story, click here.
Discussion Questions
- Who were individuals and groups discussed in the story?
- What has happened in the aftermath of the earthquake?
- Where and when did the earthquake hit? What part of the world are these countries located in?
- Why was the earthquake so devastating and cause such loss of life?
- How did governments and people around the world respond?
Focus Questions
What can be done to mitigate (lessen) the damage of earthquakes?
Media Literacy: Why do you think it was important to hear testimonial from Osama Abdel Hamid, one of the earthquake survivors?
Additional Exercise
Skim this article to learn about different organizations helping people in Turkey and Syria. Choose one organization to look up in more detail and research the following:
- Who founded it?
- Why was it started?
- What are some areas of emergency management the organization has worked in?
Disaster Recovery and Preparedness: Lesson Plans and Resources
Devastation, loss of life, and trauma following a natural disaster like hurricanes, earthquakes or wildfires can be emotionally damaging to our children. Share My Lesson’s curated collection of free resources will help not only you and your students, but your school and community understand and cope with natural disasters and their aftermath.
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.
PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories.
