This must be the most lethal earthquake for a century. Certainly, the most destructive earthquake that I can remember, Agadir, made headlines round the world and that was in 1960. The death-toll from Türkiye and Syria has already passed that from Agadir. The family geologist is no longer on hand to provide definitive advice, but I gather from a TV interview with one seismologist that the quake occurred on the East Anatolian Fault but there are other sections of the fault that have not moved. He expected them to do so, but it may be years before this occurs. There may be time enough for the authorities to check on the resilience of buildings in the area. It has been widely reported that much of the recent loss of life was caused by a failure to build to government standards drawn up in the aftermath of previous fatal earthquakes.
Later: this website records deadlier earthquakes in Haiti, China and Sumatra. So it would be more correct to say the current one is the most lethal in Europe, Africa or the Near East for the last 100 years.
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