By Rana Zalghout | Staff Writer

Throughout the years, Lebanon has witnessed numerous earthquakes, making the fear of such a natural phenomenon minimal. However, after the August 4th massive explosion in 2020, the residents of Lebanon developed a fear of thunder and tremors. On Monday, February 6th of 2023, people in Lebanon woke up terrified at 3:20 am from another “August 4th”. Nonetheless, this time, the phobia of another explosion manifested —the Kahramanmaras Earthquake. 

The Kahramanmaras earthquake’s magnitude on the Richter scale was 7.8 as it caused severe damage and thousands of deaths in Turkey and Syria. Lebanon only felt it; fortunately, there wasn’t much physical and natural destruction. However, the damage was psychological and mental. Due to the earthquake, and the aftershocks that preceded it, Lebanese people felt horrified as hundreds went to the streets and spent their nights in their cars to avoid getting injured from the possible collapse of buildings. Indeed, many people, especially children, haven’t recovered yet from the Beirut explosion as they still suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, this earthquake may have triggered their anxiety, panic, and fear for their safety. 

Moreover, as a result of the earthquake and the storm in Lebanon, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced that schools in Lebanon and other educational institutions must close their doors for two days so that students stay in their homes without having to feel anxious for leaving their houses and their families. 

There are different effects of the earthquake on Lebanese people’s psychological well-being. In fact, according to some studies about the impact of earthquakes, evidence suggests that children and adolescents have higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and earthquake-related anxiety. The lack of control over terror caused by exposure to unpredictable and uncontrollable earthquakes appears to mediate traumatic stress. 

Furthermore, the anxiety of having another deadly earthquake, or an explosion, leads to sleep disorders. For instance, many Lebanese asserted that they can barely sleep anymore because they are constantly worried that another earthquake with greater damage occurs in Lebanon. Besides, having nightmares of witnessing a destructive earthquake was prevalent for many Lebanese. 

Lebanese people have been struggling for many years because of the political instability in Lebanon, especially in the last three years with the worsening economic crisis and the August 4th explosion that triggered and increased the prevalence of anxiety disorders. Unfortunately, because of the Kahramanmaras earthquake, many continue to suffer mentally and psychologically in Lebanon and across the affected region.