Experiences of Earthquake Victim Families in the Disaster of the Century: A Qualitative Study

Disasters significantly affect either the whole or a part of society, disrupt the course of life, and cause lasting financial and emotional damage. This study was conducted to reveal the experiences, losses, and expectations of families who were forced to leave their homes after the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaras, Turkey on February 6, 2023. This qualitative study was conducted with earthquake victims between 16 March 2023 and 19 March 2023. The criterion sampling method was used to select the participants, and nine participants from four different families were included in the study. A personal information form and an unstructured questionnaire were administered to collect data. The data were collected through sound recordings. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim into written documents, and the data were analyzed using coding-based content analysis. All participants reported that they had experienced an earthquake before. Two main themes and six sub-themes were obtained from the analyses. The participants reported that their support systems were strong (77.7%), that the earthquake was a real phenomenon (55.5%). The participants also remembered the early moments of the earthquake (100%), mentioning experiencing both material and spiritual losses (100%), that they had not received help during the first few days (66.6%), that they faced challenges with their basic needs, particularly clothing (77.7%), security (66.6%), and heating (66.6%), and that their lives changed after the earthquake (100%). Further studies are recommended through using larger sample size and that research be conducted reflecting the experiences of earthquake victims in the later stages.