The effect of natural disasters on political confidence: The Example of Kahramanmaraş eartquakes

The February 6,2023 eartquakes had unforgettable consequences in Turkey's disaster history. The traces of its effects still continue. Two eartquakes occurred at 4.17 a.m. and 13.24 p.m. Turkey time (Mw:7.7 and Mw:7.6), with epicenters in Pazarcik-Kahramanmaras and Elbistan-Kahramanmaras. This eartquake affected the cities Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Osmaniye, Adana, Elazığ and Kilis. As a result of the eartquake, which affected 11 provinces, huge losses of life, economic effects, sociological and psychological effects occurred. Since disasters are natural events, it is known that the ''human effect'' has an impact on the disaster. When defining disaster, human impact is a prerequisite. Most of the natural events occurring around the world turn into natural disasters. The Kahramanmaras Earthquakes affected nearly 14 million people and turned into a crisis. The result of the earthquake was quite large in terms of the magnitude of the disaster. For this reason, people's changing perception of political trust and preferences after the Kahramanmaras Earthquakes were tried to be determined specifically for the study. Analyzing the results of this earthquake, which is quite large in terms of Turkey's disaster history, touching on the areas affected by the earthquake and measuring political trust in the specific case of the Kahramanmaras Earthquakes, are the basic elements that form the essence of the study.