[12][13] Damaged roads, winter storms, and disruption to communications hampered the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency's rescue and relief effort, which included a 60,000-strong search-and-rescue force,[14] 5,000 health workers[15] and 30,000 volunteers.

The boundary between the African and Arabian plates is represented by the Dead Sea Transform (DST)—a major zone of left-lateral strike-slip fault—it accommodates the relative northward movement of Arabia with respect to Africa.

[20] A northern strand to the EAF has also been recognized, including the Sürgü, Çardak, Savrun, Çokak, Toprakkale, Yumurtalık, Karataş, Yakapınar and Düziçi–İskenderun segments.

[25] A research paper published by Earth and Planetary Science Letters in 2002 studied stress accumulation and increased seismic hazard along the East Anatolian Fault.

[29] Another seismic gap was located in Kahramanmaraş—this 103 km (64 mi) long section—according to the study, believed to last rupture in 1513 has the potential to produce magnitude 7.3 earthquakes.

[32] The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) measured it at Mww 7.8 and Mw 7.8, respectively.

[46] A Mw 6.8 aftershock occurring 11 minutes later and west of the first M>7 epicenter may have ruptured along the Sakçagöz Fault, the next segment of the DST to the south.

Pixel matching on images captured by Sentinel-1 before and after the earthquakes showed sharp discontinuities in displacement, revealing two separate zones of surface rupture.

[85] Liquefaction was identified via satellite and remote sensing along the southern portion of the Mw 7.8 rupture on the East Anatolian Fault from Antakya to Gölbaşı.

Although no underwater surveys results have been made available to identify the sources of these tsunamis, they were likely produced by landsliding at Iskenderun Port and liquefaction on the coastal flatlands of Antakya.

[94] The earthquake rupture terminated near Suvatlı in the Amik Valley, where some 10.5 km (6.5 mi) to its east is the Hacıpaşa Fault, a Dead Sea Transform segment.

[156] Most of the squad and coaching staff of the local football club Hatayspor were initially trapped in the collapse of their headquarters in Antakya before being rescued, with player Christian Atsu and sporting director Taner Savut dying.

[233] The dead included member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for Adıyaman Yakup Taş,[234] Yeni Malatyaspor goalkeeper Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan,[235] former Turkish national handball team player Cemal Kütahya and his five-year-old son,[236][237] and Saul Cenudioğlu, leader of the Jewish community in Antakya, who died along with his wife.

[260] Civilians were stuck under the rubble for hours due to the lack of rescue teams in several villages such as Atarib, Besnaya, Jindires, Maland, Salqin and Sarmada.

[288][353] In Ashdod, Israel, a building was evacuated after cracks were observed in a pillar,[354] and Champion Motors Tower in Bnei Brak was slightly damaged by the second earthquake.

The Department of Fisheries and Marine Research said there was a possible link between the beaching and earthquake as these whales' echolocation system are affected by sea disturbances.

[358] The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said shaking was felt in Armenia, Egypt, Palestine, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Russia.

[279] President Bashar al-Assad ordered all teams of the civil defense, firefighting, health and public construction groups to be mobilized in the affected governates.

The Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection was ordered by President al-Assad to supply food and organize teams to distribute them.

[404] The Secretariat of ASEAN expressed its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the Governments and peoples of the affected countries, especially the families of the victims of the earthquake.

ASEAN affirms its solidarity with the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria in these trying times and stands ready to extend its assistance to the relief efforts.

[416] Several United Nations agencies announced coordinated responses to the disaster, including UNDAC, OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM.

[424] "We are providing immediate assistance and preparing a rapid assessment of the urgent and massive needs on the ground," said World Bank President David Malpass.

[431] Syrian government officials and state-run media blamed United States and European Union sanctions against the country for the lack of humanitarian aid and hampering rescue.

[269] The United Nations has also been criticized for its policy of focusing aid shipments solely to the regime, at the expense of Syrian lives in opposition-held territories.

[436] Ahmed al-Sharaa, commander of the SSG-aligned Tahrir al-Sham rebel militia, criticized aid agencies of neglecting the situation in Idlib and called on the international community to be more proactive in reconstruction and relief efforts, adding that the "United Nations needs to understand that it's required to help in a crisis".

[437] As of 13 February, Ankara and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army were accused of blocking aid convoys sent by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria from entering the north-west region.

"[431]Due to below-freezing temperatures in the affected areas in both Turkey and Syria, the mayor of Hatay, Lütfü Savaş, warned about the hypothermia risk.

[444] On the first anniversary of the earthquake on 6 February 2024, the Turkish government organized a series of programs to mark the disaster, with schools closed in the affected regions.

Protests were also held in Antakya criticizing health minister Fahrettin Koca and mayor Lütfü Savaş, with demonstrators chanting "Can anyone hear me?